Greenland Rising, an NGO focused on the Arctic island's Kalaallit people, has launched a Piseq contest that combines traditional song-poetry with modern artificial intelligence tools. The initiative aims to celebrate indigenous culture during what co-founders Ivalu Kajussen and John Toomey describe as a period of significant change for Greenland, where native accomplishments are often overshadowed by European and American interests.
The organization produces videos twice weekly depicting life transitions such as births, weddings, fishing returns, Mitaartut celebrations, funerals, tribal gatherings, and Arctic Palerfik dogsled races. These videos are created with assistance from AI platforms including ChatGPT, Claude Cowork, and Gemini. Contestants then write two or three sentences capturing the emotional essence of these scenes, which Greenland Rising translates into Kalaallisut and formats as traditional Piseqs using AI.
Completed Piseqs are posted in both languages on the group's Substack and on siku.org, a website serving Inuit communities across Greenland, Canada, and the United States. Winners receive the Angakkoq Prize, named after the Kalaallit word for shaman, following evaluation by contest judges.
This effort holds importance as it actively preserves and adapts a cultural practice with deep historical roots. Historically, Piseqs emerged from song-poem duels where disputes were resolved through poetic competition rather than violence. Two disputants would exchange insults in a structured format, with the first to lose composure declared the loser by tribal observers. The resulting poem gained permanent legal standing and became part of oral tradition.
Greenland Rising suggests that this traditional conflict resolution method could offer alternatives for modern international disputes involving Europe and the United States. By documenting these traditions through contemporary media, the project ensures their relevance for future generations while asserting indigenous cultural sovereignty.
The initiative's broader implications include demonstrating how technology can support rather than erase cultural heritage. Using AI for translation and formatting makes traditional forms accessible while maintaining their linguistic integrity. This approach provides a model for other indigenous communities facing similar cultural pressures from globalization and external political interests.
For readers, this story highlights the ongoing vitality of indigenous knowledge systems and their potential contributions to global discourse. The project's use of widely available AI tools shows how communities can leverage technology for cultural preservation rather than merely as instruments of assimilation. As Greenland navigates geopolitical and environmental changes, such initiatives reinforce the resilience of its people through creative adaptation of tradition.
