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Wenona Benally Baldenegro Papers 2011-2012

MSS-376

Biographical Note

Wenona Benally (1976-) was born to Raymond and Winnona Ann Benally and grew up in Kayenta, Arizona as a member of the Navajo Nation. She belongs to the clans Tsi'najinii, Honághááhnii, Ta'neeszahnii, and Tábąąhá. Her parents divorced when she was in junior high and she was raised by her mother with her three brothers. Benally graduated second in her class from Monument Valley High School in 1996 and then received a bachelor's in English literature at Arizona State University, the first American Indian to graduate from the Barrett Honors College. Her time spent working for the Arizona Inter-Tribal Council tracking the Indian Health Service budget inspired her to attend Harvard Law School. She also received a Master's degree in Public Policy from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

During her studies she spent time in Canada working with a native group on health care issues and also in Australia, working for a group doing research on aborigines. After being employed with a law firm in Portland, Benally returned to Arizona and enrolled in the Master's of law program at the University of Arizona. In 2011 she married Salomon Baldenegro Jr. and decided to run for the U.S. House to represent the 1st Congressional District of Arizona. She would have been the first American Indian woman elected to Congress had she not lost the Democratic Primary to Ann Kirkpatrick on August 28th, 2012.

Scope and Content Note

The Wenona Benally Baldenegro Papers consists of 3 newspaper articles detailing biographical and campaign information on Benally Baldenegro as well as 20 photographs from various events she attended during her campaigning period. Also included are 3 types of campaign flyers and 48 campaign buttons. The materials date between 2011 and 2012.

Arrangement

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

To view this collection, please contact Ask an Archivist or call (480) 965-4932 at least five days in advance. Appointments in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138) on the Tempe campus are available Monday through Friday. Patrons can also arrange to view this collection at the Labriola National American Indian Data Center (rm. 305) at Fletcher Library on the West campus. Check the ASU Library Hours page for current availability.

Copyright

The Arizona Board of Regents retains copyright to this collection for and on behalf of the Arizona State University Library. Requests to publish, display, or redistribute information from this collection must be submitted via our online application.

Access Terms

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Wenona Benally Baldenegro Papers, MSS-376, Arizona State University Library.

Provenance

Wenona Benally Baldenegro donated these materials to the Labriola National American Indian Data Center in 2014 (Accession #2014-04805).

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