Tech Companies Are Using Insidious Tactics to Build Data Centers on Indigenous Lands, Activists Say

The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma has become the first Indigenous nation to ban data center construction on its land. A tech startup had approached the Tribal leaders with a proposal to build a data center, asking them to sign a nondisclosure agreement along with a letter of intent. The Tribal Council unanimously rejected the proposal and instead enacted a permanent data center moratorium. Activists say data center developers are using underhanded tactics to build on Indigenous lands across the US. Krystal Two Bulls, executive director of Honor the Earth, said between 103 and 160 proposed hyperscale data centers are looking to build on Native lands. Developers often initially propose renewable energy projects, only to switch to data centers at the last minute, and ask Native communities to sign nondisclosure agreements. Honor the Earth has launched the No Data Centers Coalition to resist data center development on Indigenous lands. Politicians are starting to pass anti-data center resolutions, with city officials in Tulsa and Oklahoma City voting to ban incoming data center development until 2027.