Facebook Twitter Email
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2002

The United States made a secret deal with Denmark in the 1950s that forced the relocation of members of the Inughuit Tribe of Greenland.

The tribe was uprooted from its homeland to make way for a military base. According to elders who remember the event and other documents, they were given four days to leave.

Attempts to correct the wrong were ignored until the tribe in 1996 filed suit in Denmark, which at the time had control of Greenland. In 1999, a court declared the tribe was wrongfully removed but didn't grant a request to return home.

The tribe has appealed that part of the ruling to the Danish Supreme Court. The Denmark government has formally apologized.

An agreement between Denmark and the United States calls for the return of a small portion of the Inughuit homeland. Tribal members say they were not included in the discussions.

Get the Story:
Trail of Frozen Tears (The Washington Post 10/22)