Seneca Nation Urges Trump to Reverse Lake Ontario Rename as 50% Canada Tariffs Deepen Rift
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 29
Seneca Nation Urges Trump to Reverse Lake Ontario Rename as 50% Canada Tariffs Deepen Rift
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 29
Summary
J. Conrad Seneca said Trump’s order should be rescinded, calling the “Lake America” rename unpresidential and an attempt to erase Indigenous culture tied to Lake Ontario.
The Seneca Nation leader said the lake’s name comes from Indigenous roots and argued the move violates U.S. commitments under the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua, which he said protects peace, friendship and land rights.
Trump signed the order Thursday and directed the Interior Department to update the federal geographic names system, saying he had also changed the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.”
Mark Carney and several U.S. governors rejected the new name, while Rep. Debbie Dingell said she would introduce legislation to nullify the change.
The renaming landed as U.S.-Canada trade relations worsened, with Washington imposing new 50% tariffs on some Canadian goods and Ottawa preparing reciprocal measures.