St. John’s city council has approved a decision to rename June 24th, traditionally known as St. John’s Day in the capital city, as National Indigenous Peoples Day.

The date was previously marked as Discovery Day in other parts of the province, since the Feast of St. John the Baptist on the Christian calendar happened to be the date on which John Cabot landed in Newfoundland in 1497 on board the Matthew.

In recent years, the official name of the holiday was changed to the June Holiday—moving away from the notion of discovery.

The city decided to rename the holiday in collaboration with the urban Indigenous community, since its timing is close to National Indigenous Peoples Day marked across Canada on June 21.

The city is unable to move the holiday to align with June 21 and is encouraging employees and residents to participate in National Indigenous Peoples Day events on June 21st and to use the holiday Monday to reflect, honour and celebrate the contributions and cultures of Indigenous peoples.