Longtime Navajo announcer dies at 57

Longtime KTNN broadcaster Ernie Manuelito - the first person to ever broadcast on the Navajo Nation AM radio station - has died at age 57.

Manuelito died Friday in Albuquerque. Marcia Peshlakai, promotions coordinator for the Window Rock, Ariz., station, said he had been on medical leave since October for ongoing health problems, but she did not know the cause of death.

Manuelito will be remembered as a Navajo radio icon who spent more than 23 years at KTNN as a radio disc jockey, chief engineer and rodeo and sports announcer, Peshlakai said. He was known for his Friday morning Golden Oldie show.

He was the first person to broadcast when KTNN when into operation in February 1986, and played a primary role in the station's planning and construction, KTNN said.

He won a number of broadcast awards, including the BoJack Sports Award for Announcer of the Year in 1996 for a Navajo language broadcast of Super Bowl 30.

Services are set for 10 a.m. Tuesday at Rehoboth Christian Reform Church in Rehoboth. Burial will follow at the Community Cemetery in Tohatchi, followed by a family reception at the Tohatchi Chapter House.

He is survived by his wife, Ann, and 11 children.