Delegates at a United Nations meeting highlighted the environmental pressures from hyperscale data centers powering artificial intelligence on Indigenous lands.
During a panel on the second day of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous delegates called for policies ensuring free, prior, and informed consent for data center developments.
Maren Storslett, a member of the Sámi Parliament in Norway, noted that large data centers already place immense pressure on territories in Sápmi. She said discussions about priorities and limits must include Indigenous voices.
Aluki Kotierk, chairperson of the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, pointed to the vast energy, water, and mineral demands of these facilities, often extracted from Indigenous lands without meaningful participation.
Examples cited include a 2024 suspension of a Google data center in Santiago, Chile, and a complaint by the Anacé people in Brazil over a proposed TikTok facility. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, a Meta project prompted a city council moratorium in March.
Some communities are exploring benefits, such as the Woodland Cree First Nation's stake in a planned 650 megawatt facility in Alberta.
