‘In poor taste’: Canadian, U.S. Indigenous leaders denounce Trump’s order renaming Lake Ontario

Indigenous communities are reeling across North America following President Donald Trump’s Aug. 27 executive order to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America.

Lake Ontario, one of five North American Great Lakes, is bordered by both the state of New York and the Canadian province of Ontario.

Ontario honors the Wendat word Ontari’io, which means “the lake is beautiful,” or “the lake is big.” The Wendat are part of the Huron-Waⁿdát (Wandat) people, whose descendants became known as the Wyandot or Wyandotte, according to Wyandotte Nation Chief Billy Friend.

The Wyandotte Nation is located in Oklahoma, while the Huron-Wendat Nation is situated near Québec City, Canada. The name Ontario is more than 400 years old, predating both Canada and the United States, according to Canada’s Prime Minister, Mark Carney.

“We know that America is changing—their trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their hydronyms. Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario – then, now and always,” Carney stated in a recent social media post.

Trump’s executive order updates Lake Ontario’s name in the Geographic Names Information System, a database developed by the U.S. Geological Survey that contains information on the official names of geographic features in 50 states, District of Columbia, U.S. territories, and Antarctica.

Trump said the renaming would also affect all references to Lake Ontario on maps produced by executive departments and agencies, in contracts, and in other documents and communications.

In response to the name change, Michigan Indigenous communities said they stand in solidarity with the Wendat-Huron people.

The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians stated on Sept. 2 that as Anishinaabe people, they have always understood the Great Lakes as more than bodies of water.

“They are at the heart of our Creation Story, our history, and our way of life,” the Sault Tribe Chairman Austin Lowes said. “Long before these waters were called Lake Superior or Lake Michigan, our ancestors knew and described them in our own language.”

Mishigami, or Lake Michigan, means “large water” in Anishinaabe.

While the Sault’s service area does not border Lake Ontario, that lake has been known in Michigan Indigenous culture as Niigaani-gichigami, or “leading sea.”

“We find it disrespectful and in poor taste to rename a body of water that existed for countless generations before borders on a map divided its shores,” Lowes said. “It’s especially disrespectful to rename it for political purposes. These waters are older than the United States and Canada.”

To the Anishinaabe, names carry meaning.

“The names of the Great Lakes tell their stories, not only to our people, but to all those who have called these waters home since time immemorial,” Lowes said.

Wendat Grand Chief Pierre Picard posted a statement on Facebook on Aug. 27 that Trump is attempting to eradicate Indigenous history.

To the Wendat people, the name Ontario embodies history, culture and identity.

“To call this name into question is an abhorrent and unspeakable act. Just like his presidency, this name change once again sows confusion and strikes a direct blow to the very heart of our Wendat identity,” Picard said. “Although we are unfortunately faced with a fait accompli resulting from a U.S. executive order, we refuse to remain silent.”

The grand chief and chiefs of the Wendat Nation informed tribal members that the Wendat Nation has drafted an official letter that will be sent to Prime Minister Carney, with copies to the grand chief of the Assembly of First Nations, the premier of Ontario, the chief of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador, the regional chief of Ontario, the United States ambassador to Canada, and the consul general of the United States of America in Québec City.

Picard confirmed that he will meet with the U.S. ambassador to Canada in the coming days.

“Language is at the heart of our identity. The words it carries are rich in meaning, history, and memory, and no one can erase the legacy of our ancestors with a simple stroke of the pen,” according to the chiefs of the Wendat Nation. “They reflect our worldview and contribute to keeping our culture alive.”

In Trump’s executive order, he called the United States the “greatest protector of the Great Lakes, including the body of water currently known as Lake Ontario.”

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