Gary Fife, Legendary Journalist

Author of May 1986 Leonard Peltier Article

By the alley

Gary Dale Fife, a legendary journalist and cherished soul, departed this world on January 14, 2024, at the age of 73 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was born on September 21, 1950. Fife was still hosting radio shows and writing a weekly column when he died.

Gary was a career veteran of journalism, with more than 50 years of experience in print, radio and television. He specialized in national Native and governmental affairs, spending 11 years in Washington, D.C. Gary (Creek-Cherokee) was hired as Migizi Communications’ first Executive Director and News Director in 1981. He came from the American Indian Press Association and Association on American Indian Affairs and had formal and professional training in journalism. He broadcasted Migizi’s First Person Radio from the Peace Center building at 2300 Cedar Avenue, on land now part of the expanded East Phillips Park.

Journalism was Gary’s lifeblood. He was a trailblazer in the field, reporting on almost every major event in Native American news since the 1970s. His tenure with Mvskoke Media witnessed his commitment to bringing stories of national significance to Indian Country. Gary was a true pioneer of Native Media.
He was the first to host “National Native News,” a program that was launched in Alaska in the late 1980s.… Read the rest “Gary Fife, Legendary Journalist”

MayDay is Evolving!

This year’s festivities set for Sunday, May 4th

A South Minneapolis Mayday celebration began in 1974, initiated and shepherded by the group that became In the Heart of the Beast Theatre (HOBT); it evolved into an annual event with broad community participation.

For nearly 50 years, HOBT invited and led planning and workshops; raised monies (always subsidized highly from Theatre coffers) produced and choreographed the Mayday Parade, the Tree of Life Ceremony, and the Festival in Powderhorn Park.

In April 2023, HOBT announced that it would no longer produce Mayday, and “released it” to the Community.

Now, in 2025, there is no single organization producing Mayday; the Parade is built by decentralized community groups hosting puppet-making workshops and the Semilla Center for Healing and the Arts is sponsoring an artistic cohort and workshops to create the Tree of Life Ceremony.

Festivities in Powderhorn Park following the Parade will be quite different than in HOBT years, with no organized food trucks or large music stages. You are encouraged to bring picnics and enjoy the beautiful park.

Parade
In the past, artists at In the Heart of the Beast Theater (HOBT) envisioned a theme for the parade and ceremony through community conversations, and then opened the doors for hundreds of community members to gather during the month of April at HOBT to bring the theme to life with spectacular puppets and music.… Read the rest “MayDay is Evolving!”