US News Cherokee Nation bans hyperscale data centers on tribally owned, trust lands

[The Helper]

The Cherokee Nation issued a ban on hyperscale data center development for tribally owned and trust land on Wednesday.​

Cherokee Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. wrote that the Tahlequah-based tribe, which has the most enrolled tribal members in the U.S., will protect citizens from threats to the environment and culture.

“It’s clear that our Cherokee Nation Administration, Council, and citizens have serious concerns about the construction of hyperscale data centers on our tribal lands, which affect our resources and cultural lifeways,” Hoskin wrote. “Our primary responsibility is to protect our citizens and tribal communities from these threats, so we will not support any hyperscale data centers on our reservation without proper consultation.”

That also goes for non-tribal land, he said.

The tribe wrote on its Anadisgoi website that it will not consider data centers on non-tribal land within the reservation unless the tribal government and citizenry are consulted, adding that those projects ultimately impact Cherokee Nation citizens. The consultation must address environmental concerns and include community input, according to the nation.

https://www.kosu.org/cherokee-nation-bans-data-centers

 

[Ghan]

As a resident of the Cherokee Reservation, this seems it could be short-sighted. What I don't clearly understand is what this "consultation" entails. On its face, it doesn't sound like a total ban, and if so, that's a good thing. But if this is just a way for them to effectively ban datacenters without actually saying it, that's a problem.