<p>In this paper, I analyze the construction of Inuit-descended Greenlanders' indigeneity during the postcolonial period (after 1979, when Greenlanders acquired autonomy from Denmark). By indigeneity, I mean the subdomain of ethnic identity of a certain group, forged in relationships with not only their colonizers but also the land on which they depend. Having reviewed the history of sheep farming in southern Greenland, I go on to describe how the tradition of sheep farming was developed in Greenland. Then, I show that in the eyes of urban Greenlanders, the sheep farmers who struggle to carve a new life for themselves in the inner fjords are the models of "authentic" Greenlanders who pursue Inuit life values. That is, sheep farmers are the reification of the ideal self-image that Greenlandic townspeople hold. Today, lamb and mutton meat are regarded as traditional foods of Greenland, besides the more traditional seal and whale meat. Yet, as recently as 1906, sheep farming was reintroduced by the Danes for the first time since the Norsemen era. (Strictly speaking, there had been several attempts prior to that to that, but it was the first to be successful permanently.) The history of sheep farming can be summarized as follows. Although it might have been a paternalistic attempt, the initiative to introduce sheep in Greenland was spurred by a groundswell of public opinion in Denmark at the turn of the 20th century in favor of "promoting" Greenlanders' living conditions. The Danish royal trade company built a sheep farming station in the town of Qaqortoq, the centre of the southern district of Greenland. As soon as the sheep farming practice was introduced, many local seal hunters were attracted to the new mode of livelihood. It was believed that sheep farming was only a sideline for hunters at that time, but in 1924, an ambitious Greenlandic townsman pioneered a remote place called Qassiarsuk and started to make his living exclusively by sheep farming. He was the first (Greenland-based) Greenlander to assume the role of prime mover (i.e., key person) in the development of sheep farming in Greenland. His successful trial became the impetus for the professional (large-scale) mode of sheep farming in southern Greenland, and full-time sheep farmers spread down south to the tip of southern Greenland. By the 1950's, sheep farming became one of the most important economic options for southern Greenlanders, with the number of locally-owned sheep reaching 22,000. After the establishment of autonomous government, some Greenlanders slowly took over the role of sheep farming promoters from the Danish. The government and the renewed sheep farming station (the current agricultural research station) worked on the modernization of sheep farming. In order to cope with recurrent harsh winters and the accompanying rise in sheep mortality in the hills and mountains, the government forced sheep owners to confine their animals to sheds during the winter, so as to increase their flock size and establish more fields. As a result, the structure of sheep farming changed from the prevailing system of small sheep owners to a small number of large-scale farmers. While sheep farming as a sideline disappeared, the large-scale sheep farmers established the sheep farming tradition in Greenland. Professional sheep farming requires large tracts of land. Accordingly, to become a professional sheep farmer means to become a settler and/or pioneer in a place isolated from one's extended family and friends in the towns and villages. In such isolated places, farmers need to be self-reliant, independent, and responsible for all that they do. That coincides with the situation in which Greenlanders pursue what they view as important Inuit values, namely: (1) generosity and hospitality, (2) responsibility toward the land and living things, (3) pride in knowledge about the</p><p>(View PDF for the rest of the abstract.)</p>