Groundbreaking journalist Gary Fife dead at 73
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Joaqlin Estus
ICT
Award-winning reporter and storyteller Gary Fife of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation died Jan. 14 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was 73.
A leader in Indigenous journalism, Fife produced thousands of stories for radio, television, digital and print media during a 50-plus year career, and wrote opinion pieces using the name “Emvpanayv,” or “one who tells the story.”
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In 2021, Fife told ICT that at the peak of the Civil Rights movement, he was studying journalism in college.
“Watching all of the activities going on around the nation with different minority people stepping forward, I personally was wondering, where is the Native American presence in this movement? I also felt, of course, that since we have a federal relationship that no one else has, ours would be different, our presence. So I wanted to be a part of that, and I felt making a positive move for Native American people in the presentation of our information.”
Some Native-owned media at the time “was a lot of ‘rah, rah, go, go Indians. Let's go beat up on the white man’ kind of thing,” Fife said. “And through my journalistic schooling, I thought, ‘Well, wait a minute, now there's another side to this story. And even though we don't want to hear it, we've got to know what the enemy is up to, so to speak.’”
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Fife said people need to know both sides of the story to effectively deal with issues, “to perhaps combat the oppression and loss of land and culture and a way to show the rest of the world that our pride was still here and that our young people are going to be making changes within themselves and the community.”
A celebration of life ceremony will be held for Gary Fife at the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Mound Building in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, on Saturday, Jan, 27 from 1 to 3 p.m. The service is open to the public and will celebrate Gary's life and contributions to Native American journalism and media activism.
Digging deep
In 1971, Fife became a legislative intern with the Indian Legal Information Development Service. His family said Fife was the first Native American recipient of a Ford Fellowship in Educational Journalism in 1978, then became a freelance reporter. In the late 1970s, he worked for the American Indian Press Association.
“After that, Gary moved to Alaska with only a desk, a phone, and a phone book, for the prospect of founding the Indigenous-focused radio program — the first Native weekday radio news service— National Native News,” according to the obituary published by his family.
“At its peak, the program was carried on 181 public radio stations across the country,” according to the obituary. “During Fife's tenure, the service won eight national awards in its first seven years. National Native News began national carriage with National Public Radio and was later switched to American Public Radio.”
Koahnic Broadcasting Corp. President and CEO Jaclyn Sallee, Inupiaq, said Fife elevated discussion of Indigenous issues to a national audience.
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“Gary was a pioneer in radio broadcasting in developing a network of journalists reporting on Native American issues,” Sallee said for a 2021 profile of Fife. “This was a time when there was very little information about Indigenous groups being voiced on the airwaves throughout the nation.”
His longtime friend and former National Native News colleague D’Anne Hamilton, Inupiaq, said Fife dug deeper on important issues.
“Gary tried to overcome the romanticized reporting of Native people that still existed in his time,” Hamilton told ICT. “He would take the time to share his vast knowledge of tribal history with reporters, as well as provide background on current legislation affecting Native people.”
She continued, "Gary would stress, ‘It's not just beads and feathers.’ He pushed to bring Native stories into the mainstream as he nurtured Native reporters into filing for him. Today, many Native American reporters point to Gary as their mentor. They’d probably be surprised at how many others claim that as well."
‘Legendary’
After 22 years in Alaska, Fife returned to Oklahoma to care for his aging father. In 2011, Fife began working for the Muscogee Nation’s communications department, and had a weekly radio show.
“During his career, Gary garnered numerous awards in national and state press competitions, three legislative citations from the State of Alaska and the Governor's Community Service Medal,” his family wrote in the obituary. “In 2022, Fife was recognized with the Frank Greer Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalism.”
He also stood up for a free and independent press.
“Before free press was even on the map, Fife risked asking tough questions of tribal officials with no legal protection for his job, serving as an example and setting the bar for other Mvskoke Media employees,” said the family’s obituary.
"In September 2015, Gary was the first to stand and advocate publicly for the Muscogee Nation's first free press law during a Muscogee Nation National Council committee meeting where the bill was introduced.”
Fife was named a "Living Legend" of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in 2023.
His presence was deeply felt, Hamilton said.
“You know what I’m going to miss most? His voice at the end of his broadcast. ‘I’m Gary Fife.’ And all the Native news I know is behind it,” Hamilton said. “Legendary.”
He is survived by his wife, Ramona, brother Victor and wife Susan, several sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, along with cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.
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