Penobscot environmentalist honored by national council

INDIAN ISLAND – This year’s prestigious Michael A. Frost Award, presented by the National Tribal Environmental Council, was presented to John Banks, the director of the department of natural resources of the Penobscot Indian Nation since 1980. He is the first and only person to hold that position for his tribe.

Selected from a national field of nominees, Banks was presented the award at a ceremony on May 3 during the council’s 13th national conference in Temecula, Calif. The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians served as hosts.

Steve Crawford, environmental director for the Passamaquoddy Tribe, nominated Banks for the award. In his nomination, Crawford praised Banks for facilitating the growth of his department from one person into a department with seven divisions.

He also pointed out the outstanding accomplishments of the department’s forestry, fisheries and water resources divisions. These included efforts to control dioxin releases into the Penobscot River, maintaining a forest management plan on tribal lands and monitoring fishery resources. Banks has been a strong leader for his tribe at the local, state and national levels, Crawford said.

In accepting the award, Banks said he was especially appreciative because Michael Frost had been his friend, and one of the outstanding memories of his honeymoon trip across the country had been a visit to Frost’s gravesite in Colorado.

Frost was the director of the environmental programs division of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe from October 1991 until his death in January 1998. His contributions and leadership touched those who worked with him and earned him respect throughout the country for his work on tribal environmental issues.

Banks also thanked the chief of the Penobscot Indian Nation, James Sappier, for giving him the freedom to “think outside the box” and to implement his ideas and plans for the natural resources division.

This year’s award took the form of a handcrafted Luiseno-style arrow of authentic materials and design, mounted and ready for hanging. The artist who made the arrow is Josh Smallwood, a Cherokee who lives in the Temecula area.

In addition, Banks was presented an Indian blanket by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe’s environmental programs division head, Ethan Hinkley, in recognition of his receiving the award established in the name of Frost, its late tribal member.

The National Tribal Environmental Council was established to promote each tribe’s ability to protect, preserve and promote the wise management of air, land and water for the benefit of present and future generations. More information may be obtained at www.ntec.org or by calling (505) 242-2175.