--- title: "Seminole Nation Becomes First Indigenous Group to Ban Planet-Cooking Data Centers From Its Land" description: "The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma just became the first Indigenous Nation in the US to ban data centers from their territory." date: "2026-03-28" modified: "2026-03-28" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/seminole-nation-data-centers" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Ethics" --- # Seminole Nation Becomes First Indigenous Group to Ban Planet-Cooking Data Centers From Its Land ![A view of Earth from space showing a fiery, glowing atmosphere with intense orange flames surrounding the planet's edge. The surface of the Earth is dark with visible city lights concentrated in certain areas, contrasting with the bright, fiery outer layer. The image has a dramatic and intense appearance, highlighting the planet's curvature and atmospheric activity.]() *Getty / Futurism* The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma just became the first Indigenous nation to officially ban data center construction from lands under its jurisdiction. After a tech startup approached Seminole leaders asking to allow a data center on their lands, the Tribal Council voted 24 to 0 to enact a "moratorium on the advancement of generative artificial intelligence technology and hyperscale data center development within the Seminole Nation and within tribal lands and territories," according to a [press release]() from Honor the Earth, an Indigenous-led climate organization that runs a data center tracker. According to Honor the Earth, the startup had asked the Nation to sign both a non-disclosure agreement and a letter of intent to construct a data center on its sovereign reservation. Mekusukey Band Representative Glen Chebon Kernell, a member of the [Tribal Council]() who introduced the resolution banning data center development, first made the public aware of the startup's plans at an assembly on March 3rd. At the meeting, dozens of Tribal members and their non-Indigenous neighbors expressed their concerns with data centers and their staggering [environmental footprint](). That's a widely popular sentiment throughout the US, including among non-Indigenous [rural Oklahomans](). According to a [recent poll](), 39 percent of Americans said data centers were "mostly bad" for the environment, compared to just 4 percent who believe the opposite. "When the public found out, there was really not a lot of argument," Kernell said*.* "We're just one voice of a growing tidal wave of concerns. Our fight is just one small piece of a collective puzzle." According to the press release, Honor the Earth joined forces with the Tribal Council to inform the public. "We applaud the Seminole Nation for their leadership on this issue, and we look forward to other tribal leaders following suit," said Krystal Two Bulls, executive director of Honor the Earth. "As Sovereign Nations, we need not participate in the extractive colonial systems of generative AI and hyperscale data centers or their false, predatory economic promises at the expense of our lands and waters, communities and economies, security and sovereignty." **More on data centers:** *[Small Towns Are Rising Up Against AI Data Centers]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()