In 1908, Greenlandic explorer and ethnographer Knud Rasmussen wrote this about Greenland's Inuit residents: "Thus these peoples' lives are based on an ingenious training for the finding of a means of livelihood, a training so well adapted to meet the demands of their harsh country that the civilization built upon it makes of the Polar Eskimos the most care-free people in the world. Nowhere else can one live, as one does here, in such a state of practical and simple communism which gives equal rights and equal chances to everybody."

Of course, much has changed since Rasmussen wrote his praise of Greenland's Inuit residents. The subsistence way of life has been replaced by a modern economy driven by commercial fishing. Greenlanders have modernized, and the process hasn't been easy. Many elders I talked too during my first trip to Greenland in 1998 spoke of the painful transitions to modern life. Alcoholism and dependency on the mother country, Denmark, for subsidies have taken their toll. Still, Greenlanders are a proud people, and, their international reputation for hospitality is well-earned. I can't think of a friendlier group of people I've met anywhere in the world. Strangers greeted me with smiles. People invited me into their homes. I won't forget my good times with them.

Today, about 80 percent of the island's 60,000 residents are ethnic Inuit or mixed European and Inuit; the rest are of European extraction, primarily Danish. You'll see blond Danes and dark-haired Greenlanders in most cities. I didn't feel any tensions between the two groups, but many Danes I saw still had upper-level positions, such as the captain on one of my ferries. Greenlanders, however, are firmly in control of local affairs under the Home Rule government.

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Ice and Men

Today, many Greenlanders continue to hunt seals in the ice-filled waters off the island's rocky coast.

Narsaq Fisherman

Many Greenlanders, like this fisherman from the southwest coastal community of Narsaq, earn their livelihood from the sea.

Old and the New

For confirmation day in Sisimiut, a Greenland woman finishes a popsicle on her way to morning service.

Cellular Greenland

Greenlanders, always quick to adapt to technological innovations, are as addicted to cellular communication as any other national group.

Greenlandic Kids

Greenland kids enjoyed bugging this American tourist as he tried to write in his journal, and were rewarded with a photograph.

Old Man of the Sea

Mogens Kleist, 70, guides his 40-year-old boat out of Sisimiut at midnight.

Showing Off

An uncle and nephew show off for pictures outside the fishing village Sarfanguit.

Greenland's Greenery

Though it's mostly ice-covered, a few regions in Greenland live up to the island's namesake. (Qassiarsuk, aka Brattalid, 1999)

Confirmation Day

Confirmation day in Sisimiut is one of several holidays when west coast Greenlanders wear traditional outfits.

Family Photo

A family poses in front of the Lutheran church in old town Sisimiut.

A Modern Man

Lars Kleist takes a final hunting and fishing trip near Sisimiut before beginning his job with the Home Rule government.

Greenland Cowgirl

In Qassiarsuk, in southwest Greenland, residents take pride in their horses and sheep farms.

Danes in Greenland

Though four of five Greenlanders are of Inuit descent, there are still many residents who are Danish, the nationality of Greenland's parent country. (Seen here are a Danish tour guide and her visiting mother.)