First, there was Lake Ontario.
Now, the focus shifts to … Lake Erie?
A Republican representative from Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives is proposing to rename another one of the Great Lakes.
Following U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent decision to rebrand Lake Ontario as Lake America, David Maloney is advocating for Lake Erie to be renamed Lake Pennsylvania.
A group of Canadian Geese enjoying the open waters of Lake Erie near the U.S. and Canadian border in a file image. (Joe Traver/Reuters)
In a statement issued earlier this week, Maloney emphasized the need for the lake’s “modern identity” and mentioned he is working on a resolution to present to the U.S. House of Representatives. This resolution would call on the president, Congress, and the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to support the name change.
“Pennsylvania is home to just one Great Lake, and perhaps it’s time we put our name on it,” the statement indicated, highlighting the significance of fishing and tourism in relation to the lake and how it influences local transportation and livelihoods.
Rep. David Maloney, a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. (David Maloney, Pennsylvania House of Representatives)
Trevor Jones, the MPP for Chatham-Kent—Leamington in Ontario, has part of his riding along the Lake Erie coast. When reached for a comment by CBC News, his office stated that he would not be making any remarks regarding the proposal at this moment.
The office of the federal representative for the same riding, MP Dave Epp, mentioned he was unable to provide a comment or participate in an interview due to existing obligations.
Maloney pointed out that Ohio already possesses significant shoreline, while New York has two Great Lakes, and Canada has another four. Michigan is also a state bordering Lake Erie.
“Pennsylvania has one. Let’s designate it as Lake Pennsylvania!”
‘We ultimately become poorer for this loss’
Ken Drouillard, a professor at the University of Windsor, teaches a course on the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.
He stated that altering names of places with significant historical backgrounds, like the Great Lakes, disconnects people from their heritage.
“We ultimately become poorer for this loss,” he expressed to CBC News.
“Names encompass more than mere labels on a map; they bind us to place and history,” added Drouillard, who is also affiliated with the university’s Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER).
A boat navigating through Lock 4 of the Erie Canal in Waterford, N.Y., in 2015. The Erie Canal was a remarkable engineering achievement upon its opening in 1825. (Mike Groll/The Associated Press)
He noted that, similar to Lake Ontario, the name of Lake Erie is derived from Indigenous naming traditions that predate both the United States and Canada.
“Furthermore, renaming Lake Erie diminishes the rich historical context associated with it, especially regarding early westward migration and settlement in the U.S. Midwest.”
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“The Erie Canal was the first significant inter-basin diversion linking Lake Erie to the Hudson River and the Port of New York City on the Atlantic Ocean. Would a change in Lake Erie’s name necessitate a complete renaming of this historic canal, which is entirely located in a different state?”
The term Erie is a shortened form of the Indigenous word erielhonan, meaning “long tail.”
Robert Corradino, the Republican mayor of Oswego, N.Y., a city located on the southeastern shore of Lake Ontario, believes the lake is vital to the identity of his community and states that the decision not to comply with President Donald Trump’s order to rename the lake to ‘Lake America’ is supported by his constituents ‘overwhelmingly.’