Rochester City Council unanimously approved a proclamation Friday affirming that the city will continue using the name Lake Ontario in all official local capacities, despite President Donald Trump's executive order renaming the lake "Lake America."
The proclamation strongly criticized the president's action, calling it a distraction from other issues facing the country.
"This desperate and flaccid stunt by the President is a clear distraction from the issues that matter most to U.S. voters: the failing economy, housing, affordability and, lest we forget, President Trump's unwanted and unwarranted war with Iran," the proclamation reads in part.
Trump signed an executive order Thursday directing the federal government to rename Lake Ontario "Lake
America," saying the new name honors "the American history of the Great Lakes."
Rochester proclamation cites Lake Ontario's Indigenous history
City Council's proclamation notes that the name Lake Ontario predates the Canadian province of Ontario, which shares its name.
"To be abundantly clear, the name Lake Ontario, derived from the Native Wyandot word ontarí'io meaning 'great lake' or 'lake of shining waters,' is not a reference to the Canadian Province – rather, the Province is eponymous to the Lake," the proclamation states.
The council said Lake Ontario represents centuries of Indigenous history, culture and tradition and argued that changing its name would not erase that legacy.
"No serious person from the Native Tribes or U.S. and Canadian cities which share the Lake will ever … call Lake Ontario 'Lake America,'" the proclamation states.
Rochester will continue using Lake Ontario
Rochester is the largest U.S. city situated on Lake Ontario and the cultural and commercial center of a metropolitan area with more than 1 million people.
The proclamation states that even if "Lake America" becomes the official name used by the federal government, the city will continue recognizing Lake Ontario and its historical significance.
"No government entity – not the President, not the State of New York, not the City of Rochester and not Canada – has the right or the ability to erase centuries of Indigenous history simply by giving a new nickname to a Great Lake whose cultural legacy will outlive us all," the proclamation states.
Rochester council president plans resolution
In addition to the proclamation, City Council President Miguel A. Meléndez Jr. said he will introduce a memorializing resolution this month calling on the federal administration to reverse its decision to rename the lake.
The resolution is expected to formally express Rochester's opposition to the federal name change.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Rochester City Council vows to stick with Lake Ontario name after Trump order
