The Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska is thinking about recognizing an important figure in Alaska history in a unique way. Benny Benson, the designer of the Alaska state flag, is being considered for posthumous tribal membership.
A group of historians published a paper in 2022 explaining that the decades-old understanding of Benson’s heritage as Alutiiq or Sugpiaq isn’t accurate. They laid out evidence to show he was actually Unangax̂, with family from Unalaska.
Shayla Shaishnikoff serves as the Qawalangin Tribe’s council president and interim administrator. She said the request to enroll Benson came from an active tribal member.
“We did have someone submit that enrollment form on his behalf, along with a resolution,” she told KUCB.
That someone is regional historian and tribal member Mike Livingston, who is one of the authors of the 2022 paper. He said it’s important to document Benson’s Unangax̂ heritage as a means of correcting “errors in the historical record.”
“I think it's important that we get the facts as best we can,” Livingston said. “If Benny Benson was indeed a member of the Qawalangin Tribe, which I believe he was, then it needs to be clearly documented.”
Both Shaishnikoff and Livingston said that to their knowledge, this would be the first time the tribe grants membership to someone who has died.
Benson, who was born in Chignik in 1912, grew up in the Jesse Lee Home for Children in Unalaska, and later in Seward. He created his winning 1927 flag design in Seward as part of a contest for Alaska schoolchildren.
After graduation, Benson fished and trapped foxes with his father on the Alaska Peninsula. He later lived in Seattle, and eventually moved to Kodiak and worked as an airplane mechanic. He died in Kodiak of a heart attack in 1972, at the age of 59.
Shaishnikoff said the membership request will be considered by the tribe’s enrollment committee. That recommendation will then be taken into consideration by the tribal council.
As for when the council will vote on the membership request, Shaishnikoff isn’t sure yet, given what she describes as the “uniqueness” of the case.
