In Indian Country, Data Centers Come With a Familiar Threat of Colonialism. These Organizers Are Fighting Back.

Muscogee (Creek) Nation citizens Kenzie Roberts and Jordan Harmon organized against a proposed AI data center on their reservation's Looped Square Ranch, a 5,570-acre plot used for tribal food sovereignty initiatives. This proposed data center would require rezoning the land for industrial purposes, threatening current tribal activities like hunting and farming. Community organizers like Krystal Two Bulls of Honor the Earth state that at least 106 proposed data center projects are near or on Native lands, often promising jobs that rarely materialize while posing threats to land and water. Concerns include potential water depletion, as hyperscale data centers can use up to 5 million gallons per day, and increased electricity costs, which a recent Bloomberg analysis showed were up by 267 percent near data centers. Muscogee National Council member Dode Barnett drafted legislation to prevent certain tribal officials from signing non-disclosure agreements after NDAs prevented council members from accessing details about the Mvskoke Tech Park project.