This change signifies that he created the flag with the Big Dipper, the North Star and a simple blue field when he was 14 years old.
Adolf Zeman, Superior Court Judge, ordered last week that the state issue John Benson Jr. a birth certificate with his birth date of September 12, 1912 and correct his mother’s maiden names.
This order was issued in response to a petition from Michael iqyax livingston, a researcher who was part the team that studied Benson’s heritage and discovered records supporting the changes.
Benson is also known as Benny Benson. In 1927, Benson won a contest across the territory with his flag design. It became the state flag when Alaska was admitted to union in 1959. Benson is thought to be the first Indigenous person to design a state banner. He died in 1972.
According to the University of Alaska’s web site about the history of flags, Benson explained his design in a written submission. “The blue field is meant for the Alaska sky, forget-me-not and Alaska flowers. The North Star represents the future of Alaska, which is the Union’s most northern state. The Great Bear is represented by the dipper, which symbolizes strenth.
Zeman’s order explains that a panel made up of historians, convened at the request by the state’s vital record section, examined Livingston’s documents and recommended changing Benson’s birthday.
In 1940, a birth certificate listed Benson’s date of birth as Oct. 12, 1913. According to the report, Benson may have been told that he required his birth certificate for registration.
Livingston, a cultural heritage specialist at Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association described Benson’s investigation as a big adventure that took many twists and turns. We just tried to keep the path as long as possible.”
According to the researchers, documents found by them also prove that Benson, often identified as Alutiiq in his ancestry records, was actually Unangax. Livingston stated that his confidence that Benson was Unangax was “very high” given the ancestry records for his mother.
The report was published on Thursday by the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association.
According to the report, Benson lost his mother when he was a child. His father then sent Benson and his siblings to a home for orphans and other displaced children.
Livingston stated that there are still many questions regarding Benson’s father, and where he is from. According to the report, Benson’s father was listed in documents as coming from Norway. Other reports indicate that he is from Sweden.
