Seneca leader says Trump order to change Lake Ontario name shows ‘blatant disrespect’ to Indigenous people
‘All Native Nations need to stand united to vocally and forcefully reject this change. We are also calling on all federal, state and local representatives – regardless of political party – to stand with the Seneca Nation and oppose the President’s Executive Order.’
File photo by Tom Rivers: These sailboats race as the sun comes down on Lake Ontario on Aug. 12, 2021. Ten sailboats raced for 4 miles, having to change directions frequently. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to rename the lake to “Lake America.”
The leader of the Seneca Nation says Donald Trump’s executive order on Thursday, renaming Lake Ontario to “Lake America,” shows “blatant disrespect” toward the Seneca people and all Indigenous people.
Provided photo: J.C. Seneca is president of the Seneca Nation.
J.C. Seneca, president of the Seneca Nation, said the executive order goes against the United States’ historic commitment to the Seneca people and other Haudenosaunee nations. The executive order is “starkly un-presidential and demeaning to his office,” Seneca said in released statement.
Trump made the order after trade negotiations fell apart with Canada. The president on Tuesday posted on social media that the United States was giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” because the US doesn’t “expect to doing much business with Ontario any longer.”
Canada pulled out of trade talks with the U.S. Trump announced 50 percent tariffs on $20 billion of Canadian goods. Canada then announced retaliatory tariffs.
Trump last year announced an executive order that gave the Gulf of Mexico a new name – the Gulf of America.
Trump’s executive order compels the Secretary of the Interior and the Board on Geographic Names to rename the body of water to “Lake America” and update federal databases to reflect the new name. Google Maps also made the change for U.S.-based users.
Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York, Canadian Prime Minister John Carney and other political leaders said the name will remain Lake Ontario.
J.C. Seneca said the Seneca Nation will always call it Lake Ontario. He issued the following statement:
“Lake Ontario derives its name from Indigenous roots. In our traditional Seneca language, its name is sga:nyodai:yoh, meaning ‘beautiful lake.’ Long before the United States existed, and before settlers brought the English language to our lands, our Seneca and Haudenosaunee ancestors traveled Lake Ontario and surrounding waterways for many reasons, including diplomacy among our nations. Now, we are seeing the exact opposite of diplomacy.
“The action that President Trump is taking is starkly un-presidential and demeaning to his office and his standing as the leader of the free world. His blatant disrespect toward the Seneca people, other Haudenosaunee nations, and all Indigenous people is unacceptable.
“The President cannot assert ownership over our culture or erase it through irresponsible political action. His order should be rescinded, and the name Lake Ontario should be left as it is, reflective of the Seneca people, other Haudenosaunee nations and all Indigenous people surrounding the lake.
“To us, Lake Ontario is not a political pawn. It does not separate the countries of the United States and Canada. It is all Indigenous land, which has been occupied by Indigenous people since time immemorial.
“In 1794, President George Washington and the Seneca and other Haudenosaunee nations signed the Treaty of Canandaigua, promising to live in peace and friendship with one another. The United States also promised our people the free use and enjoyment of our lands forever. President Trump’s aggression toward our culture with his Executive Order violates that peace, friendship and commitments of the Canandaigua treaty. This is the latest in a long history of willful attempts to disregard the United States’ commitments to the Seneca and other Haudenosaunee nations. President Trump needs to be reminded of those commitments.
“I would also remind the President of the tenets of the United States Constitution, where Article 6 clearly states that treaties are the ‘supreme Law of the Land,’ and need to always be honored as such.
“We will always call Lake Ontario by the name derived from the language of our ancestors – the name that, like the strength and influence of the Seneca people, will live on forever, long after the intrusive political tirades of individual men.
“All Native Nations need to stand united to vocally and forcefully reject this change. We are also calling on all federal, state and local representatives – regardless of political party – to stand with the Seneca Nation and oppose the President’s Executive Order.”
