RICHMOND, Va. -- An interfaith prayer service was held near the Bell Tower at Capitol Square on Monday morning to honor and celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
The event was organized by St. John’s and St. Paul’s Episcopal churches in partnership with The Pocahontas Project.
The nonprofit headquartered in Gloucester County uses the image of Pocahontas to support native and indigenous people through education, events, and outreach.
Chief. W. Frank Adams, of the Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe, offered a reflection and hoped more states would embrace Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
“We were here first but we welcomed strangers. The strangers that came across the water. We kept welcoming them and feeding them until money and profits took hold of their common sense,” Chief Adams explained.
It comes two years after President Joe Biden officially commemorated Indigenous Peoples Day, the day meant to shift the focus away from Columbus Day.
Virginia currently recognizes 11 different Indian tribes.
Rev. Gwynn Crichton of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church read a land acknowledgment and thanksgiving.
“We offer our respect to those ancestors who may be interred in this land. We are also thankful for the gifts of the people of the land. Creator let us be of Good Mind to reconcile the mistreatment of this land and to those who have been displaced,” she said.
The Pocahontas Project and Richmond’s Department of Parks and Recreation also organized a celebration festival to mark the holiday at 4 p.m. at Powhatan Hill Park on Northampton Street.
“The name and the history of Powhatan Hill are very appropriate for this celebration as it was the site of a meeting between Powhatan Indians and Christopher Newport and John Smith on May 23, 1607, soon after their landing at Jamestown,” according to a press release.
Guests can expect drumming, dancing, food, and presentations from Chief Mark Custalow and the Mattaponi Tribe.
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