Copenhagen, Denmark – In what the NGO Greenland Rising describes as a year of 'flux' for Greenland, the organization is turning to artificial intelligence to spotlight the resilience and cultural heritage of the Kalaallit people. Co-founders Ivalu Kajussen and John Toomey have launched a Piseq (traditional song-poem) contest designed to showcase the native culture overshadowed by geopolitical maneuvers from Europe and America.
Twice a week, the group enlists AI tools like ChatGPT, Vibe, Pond5, Gemini, and Claude Cowork to create videos depicting life transitions of native Greenlanders—birth, weddings, returns from fishing trips, Mitaartut (Greenland's 'Halloween'), funerals, tribal conclaves, Meetings of the Elders, or Arctic Palerfik (dogsled races). Contestants then write two or three sentences capturing the emotional essence of the video, which Greenland Rising translates into Kalaallisut and formats as Piseqs with AI assistance. These are posted to the group's Substack and to siku.org, the indigenous website for Inuit in Greenland, Canada, and the U.S.
Judges evaluate submissions and award winners the Angakkoq Prize, named after the Kalaallit word for Shaman. The initiative aims to celebrate Kalaallit culture and character, highlighting their toughness and accomplishments. Historically, the most powerful Piseqs emerged from song-poem 'duels'. When two Kalaallit had a dispute, rather than resorting to violence, the tribe arranged a poetry stand-off. The two disputants faced each other, sometimes inches apart, and voiced insults, each trying to top the other. The rival who 'lost his cool' first, according to a vote of the observing tribal members, won the dispute. The result had permanent legal standing and became an oft-quoted Piseq, part of the tribe's oral tradition.
Greenland Rising believes this tradition offers a model for conflict resolution that Europe and the U.S. could emulate. By using AI to amplify these cultural expressions, the NGO hopes to shift focus from external machinations to the actual accomplishments of the Kalaallit people. The contest is open to anyone, with entries submitted through the group's Substack. For more on Piseqs and Greenlandic literature, see Collections of Ammassalik Songs by Knud Rasmussen, Greenlandic Oral Traditions: Collection, Reframing, and Reinvention by Kirsten Thisted, and Inuit: the Story of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference by Aqqaluk Lynge.
