Indigenous nations weigh whether to invite data centers onto tribal lands
Indigenous nations across the U.S. are debating whether to allow AI data centers on their sovereign lands, with some tribes resisting due to environmental and historical concerns. The Seminole Nation has enacted a moratorium on development, while the Cherokee Nation established a task force to evaluate impacts. This comes as organizations like Honor the Earth build a grassroots network to resist such projects, drawing parallels to past extractive industries.
Indigenous nations are currently navigating complex decisions regarding the development of AI data centers on their sovereign lands. Krystal Two Bulls, executive director of Honor the Earth, highlights that tribal nations, with their large land tracts and unique jurisdictional frameworks, are seen as prime targets by developers.
The article provides several examples: In Utah, businessman Kevin O'Leary proposed a 10,000-acre hyperscale AI data center, a plan that was scaled back from an initial 40,000 acres due to public pressure. This project is projected to significantly increase the state's carbon emissions and would require substantial water, raising concerns among the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation and scientists like Robert Davies from Utah State University, who warned of devastation to the Great Salt Lake. Meanwhile, the Seminole Nation has become one of the first tribes to enact a moratorium on AI data center development, and the Cherokee Nation established a task force to assess the economic and environmental impacts, including data sovereignty concerns.
For many, the debate evokes the historical context of the Transcontinental Railroad, which was viewed by some scholars, such as Hillary Renick of the California Indian Land Institute, as both infrastructure and an invasion facilitating extraction. Megan Baker, a professor at Northwestern University specializing in Choctaw law, noted that the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma historically levied taxes on railroad companies for community benefit. Robert Voss, an associate professor at Northwest Missouri State University, suggests data centers don't have to follow extractive models, citing Netrality's retrofitting of an old high-rise in Shawnee, Kansas.
Organizations like Honor the Earth are actively engaged in a "Data Center Resistance" campaign, educating communities to make informed decisions about proposals from companies such as Meta, Apple, and Amazon. The overarching goal is to ensure that data center development serves tribal needs for data sovereignty and economic gain without replicating historical patterns of exploitation and environmental damage.