Indigenous Nations Fight Back Against Predatory Data Center Developers on Tribal Lands

The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma made history last month by becoming the first Indigenous nation to officially ban data center construction on its sovereign land. When a tech startup approached Tribal leaders with a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) and a letter of intent to build a data center on Seminole territory, the Tribal Council rejected the proposal in a unanimous vote of 24 to 0. Instead of approving the project, the council enacted a permanent moratorium on data center development.

But the Seminole Nation is not alone in its resistance. Across the United States, data center developers are deploying underhanded tactics to push server farms onto Indigenous lands—regardless of whether Native communities support these projects. In an interview with Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman, Krystal Two Bulls, executive director of Honor the Earth—an Indigenous-led environmental organization—revealed that between 103 and 160 proposed hyperscale data centers are targeting Native lands.

Deceptive Tactics: Bait-and-Switch and NDAs

One of the most common strategies involves a bait-and-switch tactic. Developers initially propose renewable energy projects, such as solar installations, only to pivot to data center plans at the last minute. Two Bulls explained the pattern to Goodman:

“What we’re hearing from different Native nations is that corporations will come, they’ll start by talking about solar panels and installing that on their lands, and then it quickly shifts to a hyperscale data center. But often, before they even get to that conversation, they’re asking them to sign an NDA. And so that makes our tribal leadership accountable to them and not to the people… they’re actually supposed to represent.”

This reliance on NDAs creates a veil of secrecy, making it difficult for activists and tribal members to identify—and organize against—proposed data center projects until they are already in progress. Two Bulls noted:

“Oftentimes we don’t know that these projects are coming to our lands until we hear in a press release or on the news or we hear rumors of what’s happening.”

Why Tribal Lands Are Targeted

Data center developers frequently exploit rural and economically vulnerable communities, but Two Bulls emphasized that Tribal nations face heightened risks due to several factors:

• Abundant water resources, which are critical for cooling data centers.
• Tax incentives offered by some states to attract tech infrastructure.
• Economic desperation stemming from centuries of systemic dispossession and underinvestment.

Two Bulls highlighted the allure of job promises in impoverished communities:

“When you are dealing with communities that often live in extreme poverty, the promise of these jobs is something that appeals to them, right?”

Additionally, jurisdictional complexities on Indigenous lands create an environment where developers can exploit legal gray areas to advance their projects.

Organizing Against Corporate Exploitation

In response to these threats, organizations like Honor the Earth have launched the No Data Centers Coalition in 2025 to mobilize opposition. The coalition is pushing for political and legal safeguards at all levels of government to protect Indigenous sovereignty and land rights. As data center developers continue to target Native lands, the fight for self-determination and environmental justice grows increasingly urgent.