Council of Energy Resource Tribes
Encyclopedia
The Council of Energy Resource Tribes (CERT) is a consortium of Native American
tribes in the United States
established to increase tribal control over natural resources. It was founded in September 1975 by twenty-five tribes under the leadership of the Navajo Nation
under chairman Peter McDonald
.
The tribes that make up CERT control 40 percent of the mineable uranium deposits in the United States, 4 percent of its oil and gas, and 30 percent of the strippable Western coal. CERT's initial goal was to force renegotiation of contracts for natural resources, primarily coal, oil and gas, to increase royalties so as to reflect actual market prices. CERT also lobbied for new federal legislation that would give tribes a larger say in negotiations. While successful in some lawsuits to force renegotiation, CERT also supported popular demonstrations against the energy firms, as well as local and international boycott
s, which were often successful where lawsuits had failed. On the legislative front, CERT was a major enabler of both the 1982 Indian Mineral Development Act and the 1982 Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act.
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
tribes in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
established to increase tribal control over natural resources. It was founded in September 1975 by twenty-five tribes under the leadership of the Navajo Nation
Navajo Nation
The Navajo Nation is a semi-autonomous Native American-governed territory covering , occupying all of northeastern Arizona, the southeastern portion of Utah, and northwestern New Mexico...
under chairman Peter McDonald
Peter MacDonald (Navajo leader)
Peter MacDonald is a Native American politician and the only four term Chairman of the Navajo Tribe. He was born in Arizona, U.S.A., served the U.S...
.
The tribes that make up CERT control 40 percent of the mineable uranium deposits in the United States, 4 percent of its oil and gas, and 30 percent of the strippable Western coal. CERT's initial goal was to force renegotiation of contracts for natural resources, primarily coal, oil and gas, to increase royalties so as to reflect actual market prices. CERT also lobbied for new federal legislation that would give tribes a larger say in negotiations. While successful in some lawsuits to force renegotiation, CERT also supported popular demonstrations against the energy firms, as well as local and international boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
s, which were often successful where lawsuits had failed. On the legislative front, CERT was a major enabler of both the 1982 Indian Mineral Development Act and the 1982 Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act.