Energy justice often means sovereignty over energy systems, and for many of the Native American tribes whose reservation lands encompass energy resources, this means control over those resources. For decades, the federal government maintained final authority over tribes’ leasing agreements with mining companies. As a result, many tribal authorities fought to control their own decisions around industry, economic development, and energy development.
Myths abound about the “ecological Indian.” Although Native communities have indelibly shaped environmental movements, they are not monolithic, and some have embraced extractive activities like coal mining as an economic foundation for tribal sovereignty. The Council of Energy Resource Tribes (CERT), a consortium of tribes in ownership of energy resource reserves, formed in 1975 around this vision of energy justice. While many younger Native Americans opposed mining activities on environmental grounds, CERT members from tribal leadership argued that energy justice meant Native control over resource extraction. This primary source—a paper by LaDonna Harris, one of the organizers who first brought CERT members together—describes some of the principles and aims guiding the organization and its views on mineral production.
Citation:
LaDonna Harris, “Indians, the Energy Research and Development Administration: A Look at Common Interests and Concerns” (1977)
Library Item Date:
October 1977