Indigenous leaders condemn Trump's move to rename Lake Ontario
Indigenous leaders and Canadian officials say the rename erases the lake’s Wendat roots, while Rochester unanimously vowed to keep using Lake Ontario.
- On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario to 'Lake America' and directed all federal agencies to adopt the new name amid escalating trade tensions with Canada.
- The name 'Ontario' derives from the Wendat word 'Ontari:io,' meaning 'the lake is beautiful, the lake is big,' and predates both Canada and the United States, yet the declaration ignores these Indigenous linguistic roots in the Haudenosaunee language family.
- Wendat Nation Grand Chief Pierre Picard condemned the move as 'attempting to eradicate our history' and striking 'a direct blow to the very heart of our Wendat identity,' while Mohawk policy analyst Russ Diabo called the change 'totally asinine.'
- Picard announced plans to meet United States Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra to voice opposition, while Rochester city council passed a unanimous Friday proclamation vowing to continue using the Lake Ontario name despite the federal mandate.
- Trump's directive mirrors his 2025 executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the 'Gulf of America,' with the president suggesting he may next rename the Atlantic or Pacific oceans, signaling a recurring pattern of geographical reclassification.
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Trump’s Lake Ontario bluster: Why treating his sovereignty threats as a joke is dangerous
This article was originally published on The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Disclosure information is available on the original site.
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Ontario premier slams Trump's executive order to rename Lake Ontario as Seneca Nation calls for reversal
Amid an ongoing trade war between Canada and the United States, President Trump last week sought to rename Lake Ontario "Lake America" by executive order.
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