Wenona Benally Baldenegro Papers

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 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.