RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — A longtime Native American journalist is stepping back from day-to-day management at Native Sun News.

Tim Giago will remain owner but is taking a step back. Giago says he’s been writing a weekly column for 33 years to teach, provoke and other encourage Native Americans to pursue a career in journalism.

On Friday, 20 well-wishers in Rapid City honored Giago as Mayor Sam Kookier declared Friday “Tim Giago Day.”

Prairie Edge general manager Dan Tribby says Giago’s work was often provocative but always important.

Giago founded the Lakota Times in 1981. The paper was renamed Indian Country Today in 1992, and it grew under his leadership into the country’s largest independent Native American newspaper. Giago sold Indian Country Today in 1998.