A Republican state representative from Pennsylvania is pushing to rename Lake Erie as “Lake Pennsylvania,” according to reporting by Fox News and Breitbart. Rep. David Maloney says he is preparing a resolution that would formally ask President Donald Trump, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and Capitol Hill lawmakers to make the change — a request that comes on the heels of Trump’s executive order renaming Lake Ontario to “Lake America” last month.
Maloney’s proposal, first flagged by Fox News on Saturday, is likely to stir fresh objections from Native American tribes that fiercely opposed the Ontario renaming. Lake Erie takes its name from the Erie people, an Iroquois-speaking tribe that once lived along its shores, just as Ontario derives from an Indigenous word meaning “lake of shining waters.” Four of the five Great Lakes carry names with Native origins; only Lake Superior was named by early French explorers.
Tribal leaders in the region have argued that such renamings effectively erase the Indigenous roots of North America’s geography. The leader of the Seneca Nation in upstate New York said the Ontario change violates a 225-year-old treaty signed by George Washington in 1794, while Wyandotte and Mohawk leaders have also protested — one calling it “disrespectful” and criticizing the Department of Interior for failing to consult tribal nations before altering names tied to Indigenous peoples who lived there before either the U.S. or Canada existed.
A district far from the shoreline
Maloney represents a district of roughly 65,000 people in southeastern Pennsylvania that does not border Lake Erie. He argues the rename would better reflect the lake’s contemporary identity and its role in the state’s economy.
“This is Pennsylvania’s only Great Lake,” Maloney said in a statement. “Its modern economy and identity are increasingly tied to the boaters, anglers, families, and tourists who come to enjoy it.”
He added that Ohio, New York, and Canada already have ample shoreline or other Great Lakes of their own. “Pennsylvania has one. Let’s call it Lake Pennsylvania!” he said.
The 240-mile-long lake is the fourth largest of the Great Lakes by surface area but the smallest by volume, and the shallowest, with a maximum depth of about 210 feet. Roughly 12 million people live along its waters — about 10.5 million in the United States and 1.9 million in Canada.
Ottawa and tribal leaders silent so far
Canada has not yet responded to Maloney’s proposal, but its government has refused to recognize Trump’s executive order on Lake Ontario. Tribal leaders have also not commented specifically on the Erie idea, though their swift condemnation of the Ontario rename suggests a similar reception could await.
Trump’s order applies only to the U.S. federal government, meaning Canada, international bodies, and individual U.S. states are not bound by it. Even so, both Apple Maps and Google Maps updated the name to “Lake America” for U.S. users after the order was signed.
The president has separately floated renaming New Mexico to “New America,” prompting several Democratic lawmakers from that state to urge Apple and Google to publicly commit to keeping its current name on their map applications.
It remains unclear whether the renaming fights will spill into the 2026 midterms, where key House and Senate races are expected in Great Lakes states. A Reuters/Ipsos poll of more than 1,000 adults in late August found 63 percent of respondents disapproved of the Lake Ontario change, while only 14 percent approved.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/environment/2026/09/12/state-lawmaker-wants-trump-to-rename-lake-erie-as-lake-pennsylvania/