Freezers full of seal meat: How Greenland’s hunting culture helps emergency preparedness

A person walks through a snow covered street in Nuuk, Greenland, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

While many Greenlanders have been alarmed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s demands to acquire their homeland, others such as Kaaleeraq Ringsted have stayed calm, trusting in food stockpiles and traditional ways of life to navigate the uncertainty.

“I’m not scared,” 73-year-old Ringsted said, standing beside one of his two chest freezers packed with reindeer meat, halibut, cod, redfish, and seal meat in his home in the Kapisillit settlement in the Nuuk fjord.

“I have enough food here for more than a year.”

Ringsted, who no longer hunts due to health issues, depends on family and friends to deliver fish and meat from the Nuuk fjord. Supply chains in remote parts of Greenland are vulnerable to sudden weather changes, and the local grocery store in his settlement is restocked just once a week with basic necessities.

On Wednesday, Greenland’s government issued updated recommendations for crisis preparedness, advising residents to keep five days’ worth of water and food, as well as access to hunting weapons, ammunition, and fishing gear.

That same day Trump abruptly stepped back from threats to impose tariffs on key European allies as leverage to seize Greenland, ruled out using force and said a deal was in sight to end the dispute over the Danish territory. He said on Thursday the details of the agreement were still being worked out.

Fish, seals, reindeer

For many Greenlanders, self-sufficiency has long been integral to daily life.

Aslak Wilhelm Jensen, 50, who keeps three chest freezers full of fish and meat at his home in Nuuk, expressed little concern about food security or Trump’s remarks as he worked aboard his small fishing boat at the bottom of the Nuuk fjord.

“Fish are all around here, there are seals right over there, the area is teeming with reindeer,” Jensen said. “You’re not really afraid of dying of hunger if someone comes and takes over your land.”

Denmark, which holds sovereignty over Greenland, has promoted modernization and urbanization since the 1950s, often shifting locals away from traditional pursuits of hunting and fishing. However, many Greenlanders continue to balance modern occupations with skills honed over generations.

Jensen, who had caught 900 kilograms of cod the day before, emphasized a worldview shaped by surviving in a rugged environment.

“We’re not the kind of people who go into complete panic when we hear something is happening out in the world,” he said.

“Us Greenlanders, we relax when we have food on the table,” added Jensen. “We live with the animals as neighbors.”

Greenlanders have long been adapted to harsh weather conditions, isolation, and unreliable supply chains. Stocked freezers and self-reliance aren’t considered “doomsday prepping” but a way of life.