Seneca Nation demands rollback of 'Lake America' order, cites 1794 treaty

The Seneca Nation has formally objected to President Donald Trump's executive order renaming Lake Ontario as "Lake America," with tribal leaders calling the move a violation of a centuries-old treaty and an act of cultural erasure.

Seneca Nation President J. Conrad Seneca issued a statement on Friday demanding the order be rescinded, arguing that the lake's original name reflects the Indigenous peoples who inhabited the region long before the borders of the United States and Canada were drawn.

"The President cannot assert ownership over our culture or erase it through irresponsible political action," Seneca said.

The renaming directive, signed this week, instructs the U.S. Interior Department to update the lake's designation in the national geographic naming system within 30 days. The move comes amid escalating trade tensions between Washington and Ottawa, with Trump arguing that Canada has taken advantage of the U.S. on trade and defense matters.

Seneca said the action breaches the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua, signed by President George Washington and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, which promised perpetual peace and friendship. The Seneca are one of the six nations within that confederacy, also known as the Iroquois Confederacy.

The name Lake Ontario derives from the Huron word "oniatarí:io," meaning "lake of shining waters." In the Seneca language, the lake is called "sga:nyodai:yoh," or "beautiful lake." The Canadian province of Ontario, established in 1867, took its name from the lake.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected the renaming, pointing to the lake's Indigenous origins and noting the name predates both the Canadian Confederation and the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Canada has responded to the U.S. tariffs with retaliatory measures of its own.