Diane E. Benson facts for kids

Diane E. Benson was born on October 17, 1954. She is an Alaskan politician, a writer, and a playwright. She has done many things to help people in her community.

In 2010, Diane Benson was chosen by the Democratic Party to run for lieutenant governor of Alaska. This job is like being the second-in-command to the governor. She ran with Ethan Berkowitz for governor. They lost the election to the Republican candidates, Sean Parnell and Mead Treadwell. Before this, Benson also ran for governor in 2002 as a Green Party candidate. In 2006, she ran for the U.S. House against Don Young. She got a lot of votes, even without much help from her party.

Diane Benson's Early Life and Learning

Diane Benson was born in Yakima, Washington, in 1954. Her mother was getting medical care there at the time. Her family has roots from Norway on her father's side. On her mother's side, she is Tlingit. The Tlingit are a Native American group from Alaska. Her tribal identity is T'akdeintaan (Sea Tern crest of the Raven Moiety) and Tax' Hit (Snail House).

Diane grew up in southeastern Alaska. She lived in foster homes and boarding schools. She also spent time in logging camps with her father and in Sitka with her grandparents. When she was 12, she started helping older people at Ketchikan Hospital. Even though she was sometimes homeless, she worked many jobs helping people. She helped those in need and the elderly. Later, she worked for the Fairbanks Native Association.

When she was 18, Diane was the youngest person to join the FNA Executive Board. She was even asked by U.S. Senator Mike Gravel to work in Washington, D.C.. She was accepted to Stanford University but could not go. In 1975, Benson became one of the first women to drive a big tractor-trailer truck on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.

After working on a fishing boat and the pipeline, she had many different jobs. She was a researcher and a writer. She also worked as a layout artist for the Tundra Times newspaper. In the early 1980s, she drove trucks again to pay for college. She was Alaska's first female union concrete-mixer driver. From 1986 to 1988, she worked as a paralegal, helping lawyers. In the 1990s, she ran a talent agency called Northern Stars. It helped Alaskan actors get roles in films and commercials.

In 2001, Diane Benson had a disagreement with her master's degree advisor. She finished her master's degree in creative writing in 2002. She studied with Pulitzer Prize winner N. Scott Momaday. She is still studying for another master's degree in public policy at New England College.

Theatre and Writing Work

Diane Benson started performing in 1980. She has worked with many theatre groups in Alaska. She taught acting to people in Alaska prisons. She also led summer theatre programs for young people. In 1985, she started the first modern Alaska Native theatre group. It was called The Alaska Native Dance & Story Theatre. She has toured with other theatre groups and directed plays.

Diane has also written many plays. Two of her plays are Sister Warrior and When My Spirit Raised Its Hands. She has a special one-woman show about Elizabeth Peratrovich. Elizabeth Peratrovich was an important civil rights leader. This show has been praised by Native writers. Diane performed it in Washington D.C. in 2006. It was part of the Smithsonian Institution's Women's History Month. She also worked as a writer and actor on a TV show called For the Rights of All: Ending Jim Crow in Alaska.

You might have seen Diane Benson in movies or TV shows. She was in Christmas with a Capital C and Disney's White Fang. She also appeared in Real Stories of the Highway Patrol. She was the voice for the character Sacajawea in an animated film in 1989.

Diane Benson has won many awards for her writing and community work. She was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in Poetry in 2000. She also received a gold medal for her work as the Cultural Coordinator for the 1996 Arctic Winter Games. In 2005, she won a Goldie Award for her radio show Today in Alaska Native History. She also received an Outstanding Service Award in 2006. In 2012, she won a national award for helping victims of crime.

Diane Benson's Political Journey

Diane Benson entered politics in 2002. She ran as a Green Party candidate for governor. She and Desa Jacobson were the first two Native women to run for governor and lieutenant governor together. They received a small percentage of the votes.

In 2006, Benson joined the Democratic Party again. She ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in Alaska. She won the Democratic nomination. But she lost the main election to the long-serving Republican, Don Young. She got about 40 percent of the votes. Diane's campaign was mostly run by volunteers. She did not get much support from the Democratic Party at first. Her campaign spent much less money than her opponent's.

After her son was seriously hurt while serving in Iraq, Benson focused her campaign on ending the Iraq War. She also wanted better support for soldiers. She was the first person to debate the sitting politician in a live TV debate. She also made history by speaking at the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention. This was usually not allowed for challengers.

In 2010, Diane Benson became the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor. She ran with Ethan Berkowitz, who had beaten her in a previous election. They lost the general election. Since then, Benson continues to teach. She also helps veterans and people who have been victims of crime.

Personal Life

Diane Benson lives in Petersburg, Alaska. It is a small fishing village. She used to live in Chugiak, Alaska, near Anchorage. She has one foster daughter and one son. Her son, Latseen Benson, is an Army veteran. He was severely wounded in Iraq in November 2005.