By Joseph Morales
Tech companies targeting tribal nations to bypass regulations and speed up data center construction have been met with opposition from tribal leaders.
An aerial view shows extensive roof infrastructure and cooling systems on a data center. Rsparks3. CC0.
As artificial intelligence continues to grow, tech corporations are searching for ways to fast-track data center construction. They found their solution on sovereign Native American lands.
Federally recognized tribes hold sovereign authority over their lands, which can allow developers to move through construction without state requirements, zoning board approval, public utility commission oversight or even state environmental reviews.
Speed is the motive and digital colonialism is the method.
National coalitions like Honor the Earth have so far tracked over 100 proposed data center projects on or near tribal land.
Tech companies targeting data centers on tribal lands speaks to the historical and economic neglect of tribal lands in the United States. Centuries of deprivation have left tribal nations underfunded, forcing many tribal leaders to weigh community profit against environmental protection. Organizations like the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs promote these projects as vital economic opportunities, but tribal leaders and community advocates are raising the alarm over long-term environmental safety.
Chebon Kernell, a council member for the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, described developers’ promises as “the false fruits of wealth” to The New York Times. Developers pitch projects to communities struggling with high unemployment. This creates a choice between profit and land stewardship.
Krystal Two Bulls, executive director of Honor the Earth, said, "As Sovereign Nations, we need not participate in the extractive colonial systems of generative AI and hyperscale data centers or their false, predatory economic promises at the expense of our lands and waters, communities and economies, security and sovereignty."
Natural resources and lands require sustainable environmental stewardship. Lance Cheung, U.S. Department of Agriculture. CC0.
Across Indian Country, many Native media outlets and sovereign advocacy organizations have initiated critical public discussions around this land grab. Although the companies trying to build data centers pitch themselves as the future, some tribes are choosing to maintain their sovereign right to regulate their own lands.
This awareness among tribal leaders is showing up in major decisions. Some tribal governments have taken legal steps to halt development entirely. Most recently, the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma's General Council voted 24 to 0 to pass a sweeping moratorium on generative AI and hyperscale data center development.
For the near future, one thing is for certain: there seems to be plenty of skepticism about data centers throughout Indian Country, making it clear that some tribal nations are prepared to resist these targeted efforts of data colonialism.
GET INVOLVED:
Honor the Earth: Follow and support their Stop Data Colonialism campaign. This nonprofit Indigenous organization tracks where data centers are being proposed near tribal communities.
Climate Justice Alliance (CJA): A non-profit organization that is tracking AI data centers. They support moratoriums that tribal nations are implementing to preserve their lands.
The Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN): It actively tracks and campaigns against the expansion of artificial intelligence and data centers targeting tribal and rural lands.
Joseph Morales
Joseph Morales is an enrolled member of the Tohono O’odham Nation and an English major at Arizona State University. Through his education he has built years of experience in digital media and tribal journalism, focusing on representation and community storytelling.