Overview
- The Cherokee Nation announced the ban Monday after a 37-page Data Center Task Force report and a citizen survey found 64% of 1,593 respondents opposed hyperscale campuses.
- The task force defined hyperscale centers as very large facilities that often need more than 100 megawatts of power and employ only about 100 permanent staff once built.
- The report cited specific harms including heavy water and energy use, risks to air quality, noise and light pollution, and threats to cultural and archaeological resources.
- The nation said it will not support hyperscale projects on non-tribal land inside the reservation unless companies engage in early, transparent, and robust consultation with tribal leaders.
- The task force warned that no state or federal registry tracks data centers in Oklahoma, recommended a permanent advisory committee, and noted the ban does not affect active projects sited on non-tribal land.