About Us
On the 16th August 2007 a number of native Greenlanders were prevented from mining rubies as their ancestors had done for generations in violation of the Danish Governments own Mineral Code and the UN Declaration of Human & Indigenous Rights. True North Gems (TNG) a Canadian Mining Company informed on the Inuit to the local police who were instructed by The Bureau for Minerals and Petroleum to prevent the Inuit from prospecting for Ruby, even though to do so was in contravention of Danish Laws allowing such practices. Greenland is currently a Danish Colony and as such is ruled via a Home Rule Government via Copenhagen. All the land of the Island is owned by the Danish Crown, and all mineral law and the Judiciary and police are governed directly from Copenhagen.
As a result of this the Greenlanders started their own small-scale mining union called the 16th August Union. This was set up to fight for their right to mine Ruby and to act as a consolidated voice to the Greenland people and the world. It acts as a platform to tell the truth of their current situation as they recognised that they were being taken advantage of by the bureaucrats who were using their voicelessness as a way of avoiding transparency, accountability and due process in law. .
The Union believe that the natural resources of Greenland belong firstly to their native peoples and therefore access to
1) Prospect, responsibly mine, cut, polish and sell their minerals is the inherent right of every native Greenlander.
2) For the upholding of Section 32 of the Mineral code that enshrines their cultural and historical rights to make a living from Ruby.
3) To be treated in a democratic and transparent way with respect to their native traditions and worldview.
4) For the global community, civil society groups and the international jewellery industry to support their just cause. (please see the petition page)