Mount Pleasant Mayor Jim Holton declared Oct. 12, 2015 Indigenous Peoples Day.

Holton presented a proclamation ffter a special drum ceremony from Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe Chief Steve Pego at the Oct. 12 city commission meeting, Holton presented the proclamation.

Pego expressed his gratitude to the commission.

"If more people started working with their hearts, the world wouldn't be a bad place to live," he said.

Holton highlighted the proclamation, saying Mount Pleasant and the Tribe have a relationship based on mutual respect and trust. He declared every second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day.

"It will be used to reflect upon the struggles of the Tribe and to celebrate their culture," Holton said.

The proclamation follows a resolution passed in September 2014 by the Tribal Council, who urged Mount Pleasant to adopt the holiday as well.

While it is widely known as Columbus Day, Mount Pleasant is one of many governments who chose to move away from the traditional holiday. The first proclamation of Indigenous Peoples Day in Mount Pleasant was in October 2014 under former mayor Sharon Tilman.