Lake Ontario or Lake America?

Jillian Cordeiro was shocked and annoyed when the lake she grew up living near was renamed. 

Fifteen minutes away from Cordeiro’s house in Brockport, Lake Ontario was her local shoreline. So when she found out that President Donald Trump renamed it to Lake America, she could not understand why. 

Cordeiro, a a senior philosophy, politics and economics major, steadfastly sticks to the name she grew up with, saying the decision was a “bull**** move.”

Trump signed an executive order renaming the former “Lake Ontario” to “Lake America” late August amidst a trade war with Canada, saying there was “no message” behind it but that Canada was “ripping us off.” Five days prior, the U.S. imposed 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian exports and Canada returned with “dollar for dollar” levies that covered $20 billion of American imports.

The war has since escalated with tensions particularly affecting states that depend on Canadian imports. A food importer based in New Jersey had sued the Trump administration over a potential payout of $40 million in taxes because of the new tariffs Monday.

Renaming bodies of water is not out of the blue for Trump; he had changed the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America during the first days of his second presidency. 

Beeju Thekkekkara, senior industrial and systems engineering major, said the change was unnecessary and that it would eventually cause a line of miscommunication between longtime Western New Yorkers and people who newly move near the region.

“What was the reason behind it?” Thekkekkara said. “What’s the point of Trump making all these changes? What's the grand scheme, grand plan?” 

The name change’s impact is not restricted to the economy. 

Jason Corwin, interim director of UB’s Indigenous Studies department and of the Seneca Nation, says that the word “Ontario” is derived from the Huron Indigenous word, “oniatarí:io ” and the Seneca word, “sga:nyodai:yoh” — both translating roughly to “great lake” or “beautiful lake.” 

Ontario, much like many other names that European mapmakers have anglicized, perpetuates a “well-established hierarchy of racism in this country,” Corwin said.

Corwin says Tribal leaders are fiercely opposed to the name change and are protective of the heritage of the lake and that a lot of “clean up” is going to happen when the name is eventually redacted down the line because of the negative feedback.

“Indigenous communities get caught in the crossfire of big egos,” Corwin said.

Of course, countries outside of America, private mapping companies or even local state counties don’t have to abide by the new name. 

The U.S. Geographic Names Information System recognizes Lake America as the federal name, while Canada continues recognizing Lake Ontario. On any Google Maps outside the U.S., there are two versions of the lake. 

Google Maps users in the United States see Lake America, while users across the border in Canada continue to see Lake Ontario. People outside both countries see both names.

Emma Wilson, vice president of UB’s Indigenous Student Collective and West Seneca local, says that “those who have grown up calling it Ontario will continue to call it that” as the name highlights the significance that access to water has had on Indigenous peoples for centuries. 

Wilson’s response to the change has been to advocate against environmental transgressions that have been occurring in the region, such as the tons of microplastics that have ended up in the lake. She recommended several organizations that aid in the Lake’s cleanup, a few being Indigenous Climate Action, Niagara Frontier Surfrider Foundation and A Greener Future. 

She points out that it isn’t just this side of the border. Days after Trump’s order, Ontario Premier Doug Ford stated the name Lake Ontario would remain “now and forever” after revealing a Lake Ontario sign in Hamilton. 

While this name change may have changed on federal maps, it will always be Lake Ontario to Western New Yorkers. 

The features desk can be reached at features@ubspectrum.com.