Tribal delegates from around the state passed 49 resolutions at the 2026 Alaska Federation of Natives Convention in Anchorage, including one recognizing the Alaska flag designer Benny Benson.
Submitted by Michael Livingston on behalf of the Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska, the resolution declares July 9, 2026 through July 9, 2027 as the year of Benny Benson.
Livingston says that the resolution is meant to encourage people to prepare for the 100th anniversary of Benson raising the flag for the first time.
“But basically, what it means is people are encouraged to learn more about Benny, to get prepared for the 100 year anniversary, and to do everything that we can to uplift him and honor him as a strong young Alaska Native boy,” Livingston said.
Benson was a seventh grader living in the Jesse Lee Home in Seward when he designed the Alaska flag: eight stars of gold on a field of blue. At 14, he is the youngest and only known Alaska Native or American Indian person to design one of the state flags in the country.
Livingston is a historian who has spent nearly a decade studying Benson’s life. His work has helped correct details around Benson’s age and family lineage, including that his mom was from Unalaska, and that Benson is Unangax̂.
More recently, Livingston has brought attention to the racial dynamics surrounding the flag design contest.
Racism was more overt in the 1920s. The Klu Klux Klan had an active chapter in Seward when Benson placed third in the local contest. And the American Legion, which organized the competition, had ties to the KKK, according to Livingston.
With the 100th anniversary approaching, Livingston hopes the resolution will encourage people to learn more about Benson’s legacy, and what he accomplished as a young Unangax̂ boy.
“But in my perfect world, by the 100-year anniversary, by July 9, we'd have as many of the wrongs addressed as best we can to, to uplift and honor Benny,” Livingston said.
In Unalaska, the Museum of the Aleutians is working with Livingston to prepare an exhibit about Benson, scheduled to open in June of 2027. Other local organizations are still in the early planning stages of how they will celebrate the anniversary.
Livingston said that he, along with some of Benson’s descendants, plan to travel to Unalaska next summer on the Tustumena ferry to take part in the celebrations.
