Seminole Nation Becomes First Indigenous Group to Ban Planet-Cooking Data Centers From Its Land

The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma has made history by becoming the first Indigenous Nation in the United States to officially prohibit the construction of data centers within its jurisdiction. This landmark decision was formalized through a unanimous 24-0 vote by the Tribal Council to enact a comprehensive moratorium on generative artificial intelligence technology and hyperscale data center development on tribal lands and territories. The action was prompted after an unnamed tech startup approached Seminole leaders with a proposal to construct a data center on their sovereign reservation, requesting a non-disclosure agreement and a letter of intent. Mekusukey Band Representative Glen Chebon Kernell, a member of the Tribal Council, publicly revealed the startup's plans at a March 3rd assembly. During the meeting, numerous Tribal members and their non-Indigenous neighbors voiced profound concerns regarding the substantial environmental footprint of data centers. Their opposition aligns with a growing national sentiment, as evidenced by a recent poll indicating widespread negative perceptions of data centers' environmental impact. Honor the Earth, an Indigenous-led climate organization, collaborated with the Tribal Council to raise public awareness, with Executive Director Krystal Two Bulls applauding the Seminole Nation's leadership and advocating for other tribal nations to adopt similar measures against what she termed "extractive colonial systems."