Comment by nsavage
6 months ago
I can't help but be remembered of the discovery of the HMS Terror, one of John Franklin's missing ships. It was announced that it was discovered conveniently located in what was already called Terror Bay, and that the ship's masts were even sticking out of the water. The local Inuit of course knew it was there.
This story reminds me of another told by a keynote speaker at a CERF conference. IIRC, the story goes that US government scientists on the west coast were trying to figure out where the salmon spawned in a certain region and thus conducted a comprehensive study. As outreach afterwards, they held a town hall meeting to inform the locals — including a panel with elders from the native community — of their findings. After listening quietly to their announcement, one of the elders asked, "Do you know what the name of that place means in English?" The scientist didn't. "It means, where the salmon spawn."