Hans Island fuels April 1 jokes

Media in Denmark and Greenland have had some fun with the debate over Hans Island, which is claimed by both Canada and Greenland.

An April Fool’s news report aired on Greenland’s radio suggested that Denmark should declare war on Canada over Hans Island.

And a bogus April 1 news release from an Arctic News Service in “Hungtingtung,” Davis Strait, described a skirmish between Canadian Rangers and a group of Greenlandic “Eskimos” on a small island in the High Arctic claimed by both Canada and Denmark.

“The skirmish started with a heated discussion which the Inuit provoked by showing a picture of Queen Elizabeth and the Polar Eskimos telling their fellow Inuit that the island’s original name was Issuapaluit (Flat Balls) and that it belongs to all Inuit and cannot be claimed by either Canada or Denmark.”

The two Inuit groups ended up resolving the issue peaceably, building an igloo on the island and camping out.