here is a story in Inuit mythology that is taught to every child from the moment they learn to talk. The legend goes that when local people treat their environment badly, Sedna, the Mother of the Sea, punishes them by gathering all of their animals in her fiery hair at the bottom of the ocean. With no animals, there is no food for the people and nature is out of balance. To keep Sedna happy, the people must comb her hair – clean the sea – so she releases the animals back into the wild.
That is one of the first things that strikes you when you visit Greenland and meet its incredible people. Greenlandic people are often quiet, contemplative and introverted. Their familial and community connections mean a lot, almost as much as the environment that surrounds them. They live with the knowledge that the natural elements are too powerful to be subverted to our will. When you live off the land and sea, you know how much the weather can affect your lives and you learn to respect it.
Earlier this year, we travelled to Qeqertarsuaq, a village on Disko Island in the north west of this ice-strewn island. It has a population of 800, with one bar, one school and one of the world’s most stunning football pitches – where, in the summer, the attendance includes monolithic cathedrals of ice that float in the water just next to the touchline. And a whale or two.