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.
Americans for Indian Opportunity, led by LaDonna Harris (Comanche), convened the tribes originally and helped to facilitate the creation of CERT.
It was founded in September 1975[1] by twenty-five tribes[2] under the leadership of the Navajo Nation under chairman Peter McDonald.
[1] 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.
[3] CERT also lobbied for new federal legislation that would give tribes a larger say in negotiations.