Here's part two of a series marking KSUT's history, told through interviews with DJs, board members, staff, and listeners who helped shape the station's legacy.
KSUT marks its 50th anniversary in 2026. When the station signed on in 1976, it was one of only a handful of Native American radio stations in the country. Today, KSUT broadcasts tribal news, NPR programming, and a signature mix of music across the Four Corners region and beyond.
KSUT’s origins trace back to efforts by members and leaders of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe who wanted more direct ways to share tribal news, announcements, and cultural programming.
Before KSUT existed, tribal members, including Eddie Box Sr. and Essie Kent, delivered Ute-language news segments on Durango station KIUP.
A recording from 1961 captures Eddie Box Sr. reading what are believed to be some of the earliest Ute Indian News broadcasts on KIUP.
That early work helped lay the foundation for a dedicated tribal radio station. In June 1976, KSUT signed on the air with a 10-watt signal.
Among those involved in the station’s early development was Lillian Seibel, who began as a trainee at KIUP.
“We worked at KIUP in Durango, and they taught us everything we needed to know about operating a radio station,” Seibel said, recalling a small group of Southern Ute trainees learning broadcast skills.
Seibel would later become KSUT’s manager and helped shape some of the station’s earliest programming, including interview segments featuring Southern Ute tribal leaders.
“We would interview department heads from the Southern Ute Indian Tribal organization and share it with the membership,” she said. “One of the most important things about having a Native American radio station is getting information out to your people right away.”
Seibel remembers the station’s first day on air as both exciting and nerve-wracking.
“It was teamwork. We all worked together to get it going,” she said. “There was apprehension at first, but once we got into it, it was fun.”
In 1979, KSUT upgraded its transmitter and relocated its broadcast equipment, increasing its reach throughout the Southern Ute reservation.
“When I got there, they had upgraded the transmitter on Rattlesnake, which was 435 watts,” said longtime engineer Scott Henning.
The KSUT Blend
In the early 1980s, KSUT introduced what would become its defining programming feature: a diverse, genre-spanning music format known as “the Blend.”
Friend of KSUT Clint Swink recalled the influence of station manager Jack McDonald, who helped shape the station’s sound.
“Jack could do it all. He had the top 40 voice, the easy listening voice,” Swink said.
At a time when many public radio stations stuck to a single genre, KSUT began mixing genres during daily DJ shifts.
“There was a lot of Native American music, and the blend was pretty revolutionary,” Swink said. “It was a small station, but Jack had a vision that continues today.”
The Blend included folk, rock, country rock, jazz, reggae, world music, and more, within the same hour.
“I had a jazz show called Journeys Through Jazz on Sunday nights,” Henning said. “Bluegrass, new rock, New Age. It was all in the same mix. It was pretty unusual at the time.”
NPR affiliation
In 1984, KSUT became an NPR affiliate, expanding its programming and reach across the region.
Former board member Jerry Zink recalled Eddie Box Jr.'s early leadership.
“Eddie Box Jr. was ahead of most of the rest of the world in figuring out what radio could become,” Zink said.
Zink also reflected on the broader cultural shift KSUT helped foster.
“Over 50 years, the region has become more diverse politically and culturally,” he said. “KSUT brought in signals and perspectives from across the country into people’s daily lives.”
KSUT added NPR programming such as Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and its audience expanded across southwest Colorado and northwest New Mexico.
“We knew people were responding because membership was growing,” Henning said. “People were calling and engaging with what they were hearing.”
By the 1980s, KSUT had evolved from a 10-watt tribal station into a regional public radio voice serving both Native and non-Native audiences.
“It’s not just for Native people. It’s for everyone,” Lillian Seibel said. “I really admire how far the staff and management have brought it.”
On the next episode of the KSUT at 50 series, we explore the station’s move from a tribal community center to a former nurses' quarters, the station's growth as a nonprofit, the signal’s expansion around the Four Corners region, and the split into Four Corners Public Radio and Tribal Radio.
Scott Henning and Sean Owen provided archival audio interviews conducted in the 1990s and 2010s for this project.
