AI in Indian Country

October 5, 2026

AI in Indian Country

How artificial intelligence is arriving in Indian Country: the fight over hyperscale data centers, and the health, business and policy work that comes with it. Written for people who have to decide something.

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Issue 005

The Southern Portion of the Territory

Three Tribal governments act within days, by council resolution, by citizen vote and by a Missouri River Nation's refusal of easements.

The Big Picture

Three Tribal governments moved on data centers in the days before this issue closed, and they moved in different ways. On October 2 the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Council adopted Resolution 2026-41, formally opposing hyperscale data center development, facilities drawing 100 megawatts or more, on or near the southern portion of Akwesasne territory. Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe opposes hyperscale data center development near Akwesasne, Native News Online Levi Rickert reported that the resolution rests on a Tribal Task Force on Energy and Industry created in May. The Council quoted its own finding that the health and safety risks “far outweigh any perceived economic gains.” The Tribe’s own statement, published the same day, points to Governor Kathy Hochul’s statewide pause as an opening for meaningful consultation. Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe statement, October 2, 2026

Over the same weekend, citizens of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma did the deciding themselves. At a general gathering in Concho, 261 voted for a three-year moratorium on hyperscale data centers on Tribal lands, 83 against, with 7 abstentions, according to Beverly Cantrell of Ponca City Now. Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes pass data center ban, Ponca City Now The moratorium runs to October 2029. Governor Reggie Wassana had said that a project could bring the Tribes “tens of millions of dollars a month,” and told voters that nothing had been signed.

New This Issue

Cheyenne and Arapaho citizens set a three-year limit. Thomas Pablo reported for KOSU that the resolution applies to all Tribal lands and takes effect on passage, and that members 18 and older with valid identification could vote. Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes to consider data center ban on tribal land this weekend, KGOU KOSU had scheduled the gathering for Saturday, October 3; post-vote reports carry slightly different dates. Patrick Kincaid asked how the Tribes proceed before their water rights are adjudicated. Kyle Spotted Horse said, “We have a spiritual responsibility because we are Cheyenne and Arapaho people.” Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes pass data center ban, News9

Lower Brule Sioux Tribe bans hyperscale facilities and refuses easements. The Tribal Council passed Resolution 2027-002 on October 1 by a vote of five to none, according to the certification on the Tribe’s own document. It prohibits the development, construction and operation of hyperscale data centers within the Lower Brule Sioux Reservation, all Tribally owned land, trust and fee, and within the original Great Sioux Nation boundary and the Fort Laramie Treaty territories of 1851 and 1868, where development may adversely affect Treaty rights, lands, waters or resources. It also refuses utility, right-of-way, drainage and every other form of easement for such facilities, requires consultation and free, prior and informed consent, and “vehemently opposes” use of Missouri River water for hyperscale operations. Chairman Boyd Gourneau’s October 2 letter to citizens names the river and its tributaries as the priority. Lower Brule Sioux Tribe Resolution 2027-002 and chairman’s letter, Lower Brule Sioux Tribe

The Osage Congress takes up who must approve. Angela Pratt, a member of the Osage Nation Congress, introduced ONCA 26-70, which would require any government entity of the Nation to obtain congressional approval before approving a hyperscale facility. Pablo reported that Google’s 827-acre Project Spring in Sand Springs, at the southern end of the reservation, needs a lease from the Osage Minerals Council, and that Sand Springs approved it in February. Osage Congress introduces bill to require legislature’s say on hyperscale data centers, KOSU The committee postponed action. The Osage Nation has taken no position on Project Spring itself.

Two earlier moratoriums enter the record. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council passed Ordinance 158 on May 7, an indefinite moratorium, by 11 to 0, Scott McKie B.P. reported for One Feather. Dinilawigi approves indefinite moratorium on data centers, One Feather Katie Myers reported for Blue Ridge Public Radio that the Council cited a nearby xAI data center. EBCI passes indefinite moratorium on data centers, WUNC On July 22 the Oneida Nation adopted a one-year moratorium by 4 to 0 on permits, leases and agreements involving Tribal lands, with an impact assessment during the pause. Oneida Nation resolution 07-22-26-B, Oneida Nation

Story Updates

Massena, New York (proximity). The Syracuse.com report of September 30 describes a 635 megawatt, 870,000 square foot project by New York Digital Investment Group, about a mile from Akwesasne, and quotes a Department of Environmental Conservation spokeswoman: “Currently DEC is evaluating projects to see if they would be captured by the EO.” New York town finds moratorium can’t stop data center project, Syracuse.com via iRecruit Executive Order 62 pauses discretionary state permits for projects of 50 megawatts or more, excluding projects that need none. Key Takeaways from New York Data Center Permitting Pause Under Executive Order No. 62, Davis Wright Tremaine Issue 4 carried 400 megawatts; the figures are unreconciled. The Mohawk Council of Akwesasne has opposed the project since May 22. MCA opposes proposed data center development at former Alcoa East site, Mohawk Council of Akwesasne

Salix, Iowa (proximity). Lower Brule, on the Missouri River upstream of Salix, opposed river water for hyperscale use on October 1. The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska said on September 9 it was seeking a coalition of Nations along the Missouri River; no joint action between the two has been reported. Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska offers information on proposed data center project, KTIV

Muscogee (Creek) Nation. The task force created by TR 26-045 on July 25 carried a 60-day reporting requirement. No report appears in Mvskoke Media coverage or on the Council’s public record as of this morning. This is the fifth issue to flag it.

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The September 21 outcome of the interim control bylaw could not be confirmed from a primary source. Council voted on August 31 to prepare a pause on data centres above 50 megawatts. Sault approves motion pausing approval of data centres, CTV News

Project Jupiter (New Mexico). No new filing found. The decision deadline remains November 23; no Tribal Nation is a party.

The Data Center Tracker

First issue of the month, so this is a refresh. The brief now counts twenty Saying No, five Saying Yes, five Studying, thirty in all. Five are added Saying No: the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, the Oneida Nation, the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe and the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes. The Osage Nation is added as Studying, on the strength of a pending bill and an unresolved lease discussion, not a stated position. Existing entries were not individually re-verified this issue; none was contradicted by this period’s reporting.

The proximity sheet adds Google’s Project Spring at Sand Springs, within the Osage reservation, bringing it to fourteen. The Minerals Council is in discussions with Google; no notice to other Nations is reported. The Massena row now carries two Akwesasne governments in opposition.

Policy Watch

Governor Hochul has until December 31 to sign or veto New York’s Responsible Data Center Development Act, which reaches facilities of 20 megawatts and up. The NCAI 83rd Annual Convention runs October 18 to 22; resolutions were due September 28 and the brief has not found the text of any filing on data centers. 83rd Annual Convention and Marketplace, National Congress of American Indians The NTIA Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program and Native Entities Grant Program close November 17. The Court of King’s Bench hears Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation’s Wonder Valley review in December.

Questions Tribal Governments Are Facing

Who in the Nation signs the lease? The Osage bill puts a minerals lease and a legislative approval in the same sentence.

Does a statewide pause reach the project next door? New York has not yet said.

Does a land ban reach the pipeline? Lower Brule wrote the easement refusal into the text.

Sources

The reporting