Does Anybody Really Know Where They Are?

It was a trip of firsts for me: first time to upstate New York, first time traveling across a big lake by ferry, and first time providing human resources training for a Native American Tribal Council. I was headed for the Mohawk reservation.

My Plane landed in Albany and I drove to Lake Champlain and followed the traffic up and onto the boat. Although I’d been on a passenger ferry in San Francisco before, a tour boat, this was not a tour boat.

The ferry was not that large, perhaps as many as 40–60 cars were arranged in rows on two levels. I exited my vehicle to find the restroom and take a look around.

The sun was just setting as I looked out over the railing at my surroundings tinted in pinks and oranges. The lake was black as pitch — except where it reflected the brilliant sky — and seemed more like an ocean in that I couldn’t see beginning nor end. Once we’d slipped away from shore, it disappeared.

There were mountains on all sides making a bowl of the lake. It felt unfathomably deep. Later research showed that lake Champlain has 587 miles of shoreline, it hosts around 70 islands, it’s about 12 miles wide and 400 feet deep. That is pretty deep! I felt as though I was crossing a great divide.

I drove off of the boat after about 40 minutes and arrived within a couple of hours at what I understood to be the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation — Akwesasne. I found my hotel, got a good night’s sleep, and awoke excited to give my talk to the Tribal Council.

At arrived at the Tribal offices and started my talk at five till nine. The first words out of my mouth were, “Hello! Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today. I’m so excited to be here in upstate New York.”

This was met with silence and blank stares. Before I could go on someone said, “You’re not in New York.”

That surprised me. Had I crossed over into Canada on the ferry? I didn’t think so. “This isn’t New York?” I asked confused, “Am I in Canada?”

“No!” Several people answered at once. “You’re on the Mohawk reservation!” One said, “I don’t think you know where you are?” A lot of laughter. Then they taught me about Native American reservations. For about the first thirty minutes of my talk, they educated me about “sovereignty” — the Mohawk reservation is a nation unto itself. It was Mohawk land before there was a New York or a Canada! I was NOT in upstate New York!

I felt pretty stupid.

Now you might think that I would learn something from this experience. How could it ever be repeated?

A few months go by and I’m in Great Britain on a train to Inverness in Scotland. I’m here to present a conference to managers and professionals.

The train wound through rolling, green hillsides and up along craggy coastlines where I could make out the ruins of castles out of the fast-moving train’s windows as we left the lake country of England behind and headed into the Highlands.

As I faced my class the next morning, I still had the beauty of those vistas in mind. The first words out of my mouth were, “Hello! Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today. I’m so excited to be here in Great Britain.”

This was met with silence and blank stares. Before I could go on someone said, “You’re not in Great Britain.”

That surprised me. Where else could I be? “I’m not?”

“No!” Several people answered at once. “You’re in Scotland!” They looked at each other like I was some fool. There was a lot of laughter. Then they taught me about Scotland.

Piece of advice, when you’re in Scotland, you’re in Scotland!

I learned a lot from these experiences about “place.” Now, I hesitate to tell anyone that I know where I am! In fact, does anybody really know where they are?