CERT services reflect the continuing dynamics of Indian affairs as it converges with the historic changes underway in the US, North American and world energy markets. As a result of the sea change of American attitudes about Tribes exercising their inherent, historic and constitutional rights to self-governance, Indian economic and population growth for the first time is exceeding those of the nation as a whole. Indian energy resources along with growing Tribal capacities for governance and economic development are joining with a new American commitment to address two major national/international energy policy issues: global warming and American dependence on imported oil. Indian lands within the jurisdiction of Indian Tribes are vitally important if America is to achieve its goal of increased energy independence, as well as usher in the era of the green energy economy. Indian lands are abundant in both conventional carbon energy resources and are over flowing in all forms of renewable energy potential.

CERT began by supporting the development of Tribal capacities to manage and protect their energy resources and to deal directly with the American energy industry rather than depending on the federal government to faithfully represent Indian interests. Once the Tribes with the help of Congress restored Tribal control over Indian energy mineral resources and over the management of royalties paid to Indians and Tribes, the energy Tribes turned their attention to gaining management and governance over their environmental resources and the impacts on their people because of unregulated energy development going back over one hundred years. CERT’s services have evolved to address these new priorities. Today, Tribes envision a new era of Indian energy resource development and are once again challenging CERT to grow with them. Tribes are developing the governmental and enterprise management expertise to partner with the American energy industry so that Indian Tribes develop and produce Indian energy for the use in their own growing economies while also contributing to American energy security and independence.

These are now the themes of CERT policy advocacy, conferences, workshops and services.

Strategic Vision and Planning
There is a truism at CERT that once you learn the ins and outs of one Tribe you know one Tribe. The fact is there are over 350 unique officially recognized Tribes in the contiguous 48 states. The US Census Bureau once stated that Indian Tribes represent over 90% of all of the cultural diversity of the United States. Indian Tribes are as different from one another as is England and India or Turkey and Germany. Tribes vary in lands, populations and in visions for their future. Tribes are powerfully united by one over arching commitment: that each Tribe’s future is decided by the Tribe’s own economic and political priorities guided by their ancient cultural values; to become the People that the Creator intended.

CERT has developed and adapted methods that respect the diversity while helping Tribes focus on the issues and opportunities as they see them on the Tribes’ own terms. These methods are used within communities and Tribes, as well as for developing consensus among the leaders of the Tribes who govern, direct and control CERT. The process casts a broad net of inclusion of the Tribal stakeholders and spokespersons as determined by the Tribes themselves. Objective data on the quantity and value of Tribal resources, potential markets and of the technologies used in harvesting the resources and putting them to use by the Tribe help inform but do not determine Tribal decision making. Building Tribal consensus is not achieved by descending to the lowest common denominator nor is it achieved by listening merely to the loudest voice. It is achieved by respectful listening to the views of all the stakeholders recognizing that the Creator has not endowed one person with all the wisdom of a society but rather has dispersed it among everyone. The wisdom and the vision are best revealed when each is allowed to share their part of the whole and when each piece of that picture is connected to all others. In this way the consensus is achieved by each participant rising to the higher shared values of the Tribal community in dialogue within itself.

Policy Development and Advocacy
CERT is the national focal point for developing Tribal consensus on national energy policy and participates broadly with other Tribal groups on related concerns about the federal Indian trust, environmental protection, economic development, education, training and human resource development and ultimately Tribal sovereign rights to self government and rights to safety and security within their territorial jurisdiction. Often issues arise within the larger regional or national American policy dialogue in which Tribal views on these issues provide distinct perspective and creative insights. CERT will often share those Tribal views with others in respect to our collective responsibility to one another as Americans.

Technical Assistance and Services
CERT provides its members and Tribes outside its membership a variety of services and assistance in support of Tribes developing their vision, plans, and capacity to implement their plans and achieve their vision. CERT has a small staff so its in-house capacity to provide technical support to Tribes is limited due to the lower levels of support the federal agencies are willing to make available to Tribes or the level of appropriations for such activities from Congress. The trend has been toward reducing and even eliminating federal funding for third party technical services and support.

In response to this trend, CERT assists Tribes through its networking knowledge of the expertise possessed by national laboratories, various universities, within private companies and the growing expertise possessed by Indian Tribes who have achieved success in those or similar endeavors. Often this sharing of the networks occurs informally during CERT meetings or at conferences and workshops and other times the provider and the requesting Tribe or Tribes create more formal arrangements. As some Tribes are beginning to achieve higher levels of economic success, they are able to pay for expertise and only need help in identifying persons or firms that can supply it. In many cases CERT then acts as an information and resource clearinghouse. It is not unusual for CERT to provide advice to government officials and industry professionals about how to do business with or work with Tribes in the development or the protection and preservation of resources.

Building Partnerships and Alliances
In energy as in Indian Affairs nothing gets done without mobilizing partnerships and alliances with others who have much at stake in any particular outcome. In that sense the work to build understanding and to find common ground is an ongoing endeavor and evolves as do the circumstances and the issues. Tribes call upon CERT to promote not only cooperation and partnerships between Tribes and like minded parties in government or in private industry but even more important to reach across the divide of misunderstanding or lack of information and knowledge and seek to bring apparent opposites into finding common ground for cooperation while respecting the differences that exist. In Tribal logic, it is possible for two or more parties to disagree while each stands on principled, reasoned positions. When this occurs and there are two truths in an apparent disagreement, the solution is found not in one defeating the other but by searching for the higher principles that unite opposites. This is the Tribal wisdom that informs the building of alliances and partnerships.

Building Tribal Capacity to Govern and Manage according to each Tribe’s values and priorities is the guiding principle of CERT services
The intent of CERT’s technical services and of its advocacy is to sustain the momentum for continuing sophistication and agility of Tribal institutions of government and of Tribal economies, and those called to lead and manage them. It is more than just a play on words when we say: even though CERT is a membership organization, no Tribe belongs to CERT, CERT belongs to the Tribes.