diff --git a/Makefile.system b/Makefile.system
index 22fe24337..3cf5a16b2 100644
--- a/Makefile.system
+++ b/Makefile.system
@@ -11,7 +11,9 @@ endif
 
 # Catch conflicting usage of ARCH in some BSD environments
 ifeq ($(ARCH), amd64)
-override ARCH=x86_64
+override ARCH=x86_64 
+else ifeq ($(ARCH), powerpc64)
+override ARCH=power
 endif
 
 NETLIB_LAPACK_DIR = $(TOPDIR)/lapack-netlib