Trump’s Lake Ontario name change clashes with a centuries-old treaty. Google Maps is on the hook, too

According to the president of the Seneca Nation, President Donald Trump’s executive order to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America is more than merely controversial: It flies in the face of a 232-year-old treaty—and social media thinks mapping platforms like Google Maps are just as guilty. Last week, Trump signed the executive order, directing the Interior Department to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America. It’s an apparent step in his ongoing trade fight with Canada. Earlier in August, the United States imposed 50% tariffs on hundreds of Canadian goods, which prompted Canada to do the same, with 50% tariffs on U.S. goods set to go into effect in September. Before signing the order, Trump posted on Truth Social that the U.S. was considering changing the name of the lake as “we don’t expect to be doing much business with Ontario any longer.” But what Trump saw as a dig toward Canada ignores the origins of the word Ontario, which far predate the name of any province, lake, or modern North American country. ‘Blatant disrespect’: How Trump’s order ignores history A day after Trump signed the order, the president of the Seneca Nation, J. Conrad Seneca, released a statement cla…