Danish courts ruled the Thule Inughuit expulsion illegal but denied return.

Evidence

In 1953, in a case echoing the Anglo-American expulsion of the Chagossians, U.S. officials signed a secret agreement with the Danish government to remove 150 indigenous Inughuit (Inuit) people standing in the way of expanding an American air base in Thule, Greenland. Inughuit families were reportedly given four days to move or face U.S. bulldozers. The Danes gave the Inughuit some blankets and tents and left them in exile in Qaanaaq, a bleak village 125 miles away. The expulsion severed the people’s connection to a homeland to which they, like the Chagossians, were intimately linked. The relocation led to the loss of ancient hunting, fishing, and gathering skills and caused significant physical and psychological harm. In recent years, Danish courts have ruled the Danish government’s actions illegal and a violation of the Inughuits’ human rights. Still, the Danish Supreme Court said they have no right to return. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 204

Categorization

• XREF: Parallels the Chagossian case central to this book, showing a repeated US-assisted pattern.