Polls have opened in Greenland for early parliamentary elections as US President Donald Trump seeks control of the strategic Arctic island.
The self-governing region of Denmark is home to 56,000 people, most from Indigenous Inuit backgrounds, and occupies a strategic North Atlantic location.
It also contains rare earth minerals key to driving the global economy.
Unofficial election results should be available soon after polls close on Tuesday, but they will not be certified for weeks as ballot papers make their way to the capital from remote settlements by boat, plane and helicopter.
While the island has been on a path towards independence since at least 2009, a break from Denmark is not on the ballot even though it is on everyone's mind.
Voters on Tuesday will instead elect 31 MPs who will shape the island's debate on when and if to declare independence in the future.
The mood was festive Tuesday at the sole polling station in Greenland 's capital city, Nuuk.
Election workers opened the polls to cheers in the morning.
Opinion polls show most Greenlanders favour independence.
Most say they do not dislike Americans, pointing to the good relations they have with the local Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Force Base, where US military personnel have been stationed since 1951.
But Greenlanders show no sign of wanting to become Americans.
Even some of Trump's biggest fans cling to the principle that they should control their destiny.
Trump's attention has transformed the deeply local process of democracy.
Suddenly, the presence of journalists from as far away as Japan and Croatia are reminders that these are far from normal times.
"I think most of us have been scared since the new year because of (Trump's) interest," Pipaluk Lynge, a member of parliament from the ruling Inuit Ataqatigiit, or United Inuit party, told The Associated Press.
"So we're really, really looking to Europe right now to see if we could establish a stronger bond with them to secure our sovereign nation."
After candidates' final televised debate at a school auditorium in Nuuk, Prime Minister Mute Bourup Egede was greeted by about 75 supporters who were almost outnumbered by photographers and cameramen.
On Tuesday, the capital's lone polling station at the Nuuk sports hall had political parties pitching tents outside, with campaigners offering hot drinks and Greenlandic cake - a raisin-laced bread served with butter - in hopes of swaying voters.
A bus will circle the city of about 20,000 people, offering rides to polling stations.
Certifying results will take weeks as ballot papers make their way to Nuuk because there are no roads connecting communities across the island's 2.16 million square kilometres.
An independent Greenland would be the 12th-biggest country in the world by land mass.
Danica Kirka - AAP
