Hugh Burnam, Mohawk Nation
Emily Porter, Cayuga Nation
Standing on Lake Ontario at sunset, pastel colors paint the sky. This lake has always felt like an ocean, so vast. To so many people, this lake has been home.
As Indigenous peoples to this area, many of us grew up on this lake. Haudenosaunee, Wendat and Anishinaabe Nations have called the lake by different names. To the Haudenosaunee (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora) the Mohawk call Lake Ontario “Oniatari:io” or beautiful lake or sparkling water. Among the Wendat the name “yǫtáreʔ‘io” means great lake. To the Anishinaabe “Niigaani-gichigami” meaning “leading sea.”
Lake Ontario is an example of an Indigenous placename used by people to remember its origins in the shared histories among Indigenous peoples. The lake has always carried different languages, carrying different meanings and histories. The diversity of those names is part of the story of Lake Ontario.
It is a lake that has never belonged solely to a single nation. Its shores and waters have connected Haudenosaunee, Wendat and Anishinaabe Peoples, whose territories, languages and histories long predate the international border that now divides the lake. It certainly does not just belong to the United States alone. No single country can claim the water.
Lake Ontario is today, shared by so many. People can be seen laying on blankets, sharing their space with loved ones as they gaze into the horizon. This lake is shared by people from many different backgrounds including across neighboring countries, the United States and Canada. If you stand in Youngstown, New York, where one of the co-authors of this op-ed grew up, you can look across more than 30 miles (48 kilometers) of water toward Toronto and the Canadian shoreline.
On the shore of the lake, the smooth water-worn rocks stick out from the cool sand. The water sings a song, gentle and calm. Amid escalating trade tensions between the United States and Canada, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the U.S. federal government to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America.” The decision follows his administration’s earlier renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.”
A lake can exist by many names as it always has. Lake Ontario has been known by different names among different Indigenous peoples, each reflecting our own languages, histories and relationships with these waters. But the lake itself remains a shared resource, providing drinking water to around nine million people, sustaining fish and wildlife, trade, and recreation to all communities that the lake touches. Lake Ontario unites the natural world, including people who have always shared it.
The Trump administration’s political approach has rarely been to unite and share. Trump has instead emphasized competition, disruption and economic gain. His attempt to rename Lake Ontario, replacing a traditional Indigenous place name with “Lake America,” erases its shared memory and culture. Like so many colonizers throughout history, renaming a place is not just about changing words on a map. It is about erasing and claiming something that was already known, named, and cared for by people long before they arrived.
Names carry memory. Names tell us something about who was on this land, what people valued, and how they understood that land. Across Turtle Island, Indigenous words recall a memory of those places. These names have survived centuries of colonization and attempted erasure.
The name “Lake Ontario” is here to stay, as it is a reminder of shared histories and cultures that we have always known. Rather than renaming Lake Ontario, the United States, Canada, and Indigenous Nations should work together to preserve the lake’s rich and valuable history. Let this be a lesson in being good neighbors.
Hugh Burnam, Mohawk Nation, is an education researcher. Hugh grew up in Western New York.
Emily Porter, Cayuga Nation, is an educator. Emily grew up in Six Nations, Ontario.
This opinion-editorial essay does not reflect the views of ICT; voices in our opinion section represent a variety of reader points of view. If you would like to contribute an essay to ICT, submit your op-ed here.
