“You cannot rename away our history.”

That was the message from the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation after U.S. President Donald Trump floated changing the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America.”

Now, Trump has signed an executive order to make it official within the U.S. federal government.

Trump signed the order Thursday, directing the U.S. Department of the Interior and Board on Geographic Names to take steps within 30 days to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America.”

The order also directs the federal Geographic Names Information System to remove references to Lake Ontario and requires U.S. federal agencies to use the new name.

The proposal came amid a remarkable few days in Canada-U.S. relations. Trade negotiations collapsed Friday before the U.S. imposed 50 per cent tariffs on billions of dollars in Canadian goods. Canada has since announced retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products as part of a dollar-for-dollar response.

The economic fight also turned personal. Ontario Premier Doug Ford told Trump to “kiss my a**” Monday. Trump responded by insulting Ford, calling him and Prime Minister Mark Carney “clowns” and warning them to “fall in line.” Ford later called Trump a “loser,” “bully” and “dictator.”

Trump then floated “Lake America” Tuesday.

Two days later, he signed the order. Trump said the change would take effect immediately, while the order gives the Interior Department 30 days to carry out the federal naming changes.

But Chief Margaret Sault’s response, issued before Trump signed the order, anticipated precisely that possibility.

“Lake Ontario has existed for thousands of years, long before Canada and the United States became the countries we know today,” Sault told Yahoo News Canada.

While Trump’s order changes how the U.S. federal government refers to the lake, MCFN says the debate itself overlooks an Indigenous relationship with the waters that predates Canada, the United States and their modern border. For the First Nation, the issue isn’t simply what governments put on a map, but the history, homeland and responsibilities tied to the water itself.

‘Not simply a lake on a map’: MCFN points to a history older than Canada

Sault said the Mississaugas of the Credit have lived with, travelled on, relied on and cared for the waters since time immemorial.

“For the Mississaugas of the Credit, this is not simply a lake on a map,” she said. “It is part of our homeland and part of our history as a Nation.”

MCFN’s historical connection stretches across the western Lake Ontario region. The First Nation describes its traditional territory as extending along Lake Ontario’s shoreline to the Rouge River, east of Toronto.

Its treaty history is also closely tied to the lake and its waterways. The Head of the Lake agreement, later confirmed as Treaty 14 in 1806, covered tens of thousands of acres west of the Toronto Purchase. It also preserved fishing rights for the Mississaugas at the Credit River, 12 Mile Creek and 16 Mile Creek.

‘You cannot rename away our history’: Why the name itself matters

Sault said her biggest concern is that discussions about renaming the lake can happen without recognizing the Indigenous history that came before colonial names and borders.

“You can change a label on a map, but you cannot change the relationship that our people have with these lands and waters,” she said.

“You cannot rename away our history.”

The name Ontario itself has Indigenous roots. While sources differ on its precise linguistic origin and translation, the Ontario government traces it to the Iroquois word “kanadario,” meaning “sparkling water.”

Indigenous names also have a formal place in Ontario’s geographic naming system. The Ontario Geographic Names Board notes that geographic features across what became Ontario had Indigenous names long before European explorers arrived. When there is no established local name for a feature, the board lists its original First Nation name as the first option to consider.

‘Asserting dominance’: Why changing a place name carries weight

Sault wasn’t alone in pointing to the history behind the name.

Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish invoked the Mississaugas of the Credit while rejecting Trump’s proposal. She pointed to the First Nation’s longstanding connection with the lake and described the water as a “lifeblood.”

University of Toronto linguistics professor Sali Tagliamonte previously told Yahoo News Canada that replacing an established place name can communicate “one-up-man-ship” and an assertion of dominance. She said place names can also become tied to political alignment and identity.

The White House, meanwhile, framed its decision through American history. Trump’s order describes the lake as part of U.S. heritage and points to its role in American exploration, settlement, commerce, defence and economic development.

Sault, however, pushed the conversation beyond the current Canada-U.S. dispute.

“Lake Ontario is shared by Canada and the United States, but it is also part of a much older Indigenous landscape,” she said.

“I hope this moment encourages people to look beyond the political rhetoric and learn whose lands and waters these have always been.”

For the Mississaugas of the Credit, Sault said, it will remain Lake Ontario.

More importantly, she said it will remain a living part of the Nation’s homeland and its responsibilities to future generations.