Halona Benjamin, 17, is a proud member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. She is a senior in high school and a born again Christian. It’s Halona’s passion to help her community and people. She joined the North Carolina Native American Youth Organization (NCNAYO) the summer between her 8th and 9th grade year. She was inspired by the students and advisors and  believes that she can make a difference in her community and state. When she first joined NCNAYO, she started as a County Rep Alternate and quickly moved into the position of Cumberland County Rep and has held the position for 3 years. Halona has also chaired the powwow committee  for the past four years. 

In July of this 2015, Halona was accepted to the Generation Indigenous Challenge and represented Cumberland County and NCNAYO at the first-ever White House Tribal Youth Gathering held in Washington, DC. Following the gathering, she attended the National UNITY Conference and decided to challenge herself by running for the UNITY Executive Committee; she was elected as the Southeastern Region Representative and Earth Ambassador for 2015-2016. She is currently working with a committee and the Cumberland County Association for Indian People to start a youth council, to represent at NCNAYO. She hopes to see other youth have the opportunity to experience NCNAYO and UNITY.