The Council of Energy Resource Tribes (CERT) is a consortium of Native American tribes in the

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established to increase tribal control over natural resources. It was founded in September 1975Smith, Theodore Reynolds (1979) "Council of Energy Resource Tribes and Resource Development in Tribal Lands" pp. 214–221 ''In'' Colorado Advisory Committee, United States Commission on Civil Rights (1979) ''Energy resource development: a selection of papers presented at a consultation'' (Issue 122 of State Advisory Committee reports) United States Commission on Civil Rights, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., by twenty-five tribesPritzker, Barry (2000) ''A Native American encyclopedia: history, culture, and peoples'' Oxford University Press, Oxford, England
page 55
under the leadership of the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation ( nv, Naabeehó Bináhásdzo), also known as Navajoland, is a Native American reservation in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah; at roughly , the ...

under chairman Peter McDonald.Olson, James Stuart (1999) ''Historical Dictionary of the 1970s'' Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut
page 108
The tribes that make up CERT control 40 per cent of the mineable uranium deposits in the United States, four per cent of its oil and gas, and 30 per cent of the strippable

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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

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s, which were often successful where lawsuits had failed.Olson, James Stuart (1999) ''Historical Dictionary of the 1970s'' Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut
page 109
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.

Notes

Economic advocacy groups in the United States Energy economics Councils of governments Organizations established in 1975 Native American organizations Navajo Nation {{Org-stub