Seneca Nation Leader Condemns Trump’s Colonialist Lake Ontario Renaming Order
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Seneca Nation President J. Conrad Seneca denounced President Trump’s executive order to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America,” calling it a blatant violation of the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua and an erasure of Indigenous heritage.
Seneca Nation President J. Conrad Seneca forcefully condemned the Trump administration’s directive to erase the Indigenous identity of Lake Ontario by renaming it “Lake America.” Seneca argued that this order tramples on the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua, a foundational agreement meant to protect Indigenous sovereignty, and continues the centuries-long pattern of settler colonialism that disregards Native voices and history.
The president’s executive order, which instructs the Interior Department to forcibly overwrite the lake’s name in the U.S. geographic naming database within 30 days, was announced amid Trump’s escalating nationalist rhetoric and trade hostilities with Canada.
Seneca highlighted that the lake’s true name is rooted in the Huron word “oniatarí:io,” meaning “lake of shining waters,” and in the Seneca language as “sga:nyodai:yoh,” or “beautiful lake.” He warned that the administration’s move would erase generations of cultural memory and Indigenous presence.
“The President cannot assert ownership over our culture or erase it through irresponsible political action,” Seneca declared, calling for solidarity against this act of cultural erasure.
Canadian officials, including Justin Trudeau, joined in rejecting the renaming, emphasizing the lake’s deep Indigenous roots and its name’s continuity long before the colonial borders of Canada or the United States existed.