Calling Christopher Columbus “a man we now understand to be a harbinger of genocide and of displacement,” Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney proclaimed that Oct. 12 will now be Indigenous Peoples Day within the city. Stoney made the proclamation Friday afternoon to a mostly empty City Council chamber, though present were representatives from the Pamunkey, Nottoway, Upper Mattaponi and Mattaponi tribes, as well as the Nansemond Indian Nation.

His proclamation follows that of Gov. Ralph Northam, who also declared Friday that Oct. 12 would be Indigenous Peoples Day in Virginia — the first such proclamation in the state’s history. In 2019, Richmond publicly decided not to acknowledge Columbus Day, historically celebrated on the second Monday of October. In fact, the city has never recognized the day as an employee holiday.