"Great Race of the North" (Avannaata Qimussersua)
involves 25+ mushers and 400 dogs;
Usha Vance tried to frame a 1-2 day visit as a
"gesture of cultural appreciation." The Inuit
Greenlanders didn't buy it. Race organizers
issued a pointed statement that the Vance family
Usha (VP's wife) and her husband and one of their sons
"WERE NOT INVITED OFFICIALLY".
Further update (Thursday 27th)
The Hill.com reports that the planned trip by
Usha Vance and son to Greenland's capital have
been canceled in favor of a visit to the Military Base,
Pituffik (on lease to U.S. by treaty)
NPR update = 3/25/25
Usha Vance according to her aide Nikki Reeves,
accepted the offer of a dogsledding association to
wave the starting flag, citing conversations between
the U.S. consulate and event organizers.
Mute Egede did say in FACEBook that there will
be no meetings between U.S. officials and govt.
officials in Greenland during the Vance family visit.
_________________________________________
Greenland Dog Sled Race
[one of the world's foremost dog sledding events]
it began in 1988 and is the national championship
consisting in 37 mushers and 444 dogs (each team
made up of 10 - 14 dogs)
has commented publicly about
Usha Vance and son Vivek's
drop-in visit:
We did NOT invite them
and it is a public event
so they may attend as
spectators . . . We will not
shy away from showing
and defending that our
way of life and our culture
and our identity are NOT
for sale"
The history of dog sledding in Greenland is
more than 4,000 years old and has played a
key role for generations of Arctic people
including the Thule, the predecessor-ancestors
of the Inuit.
nytimes.com/2025/03/24/world/usha-vance-
dogsled-race-greenland.html
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