The Warrior Women Project Oral History Archive is a collection of online interviews, audio recordings, photographs, and written content documenting the women of the Red Power Movement from the 1960s to the 1980s. The Project website states:
These are stories of resistance, resilience, and hope. They remind us that change is possible, but it requires courage, determination, and solidarity. This transformative history is recovered through community-informed research and activist archiving which informs our media production, rapid response activism, and the creation of a decolonizing curricula and teaching toolkits to be used for impact education.
The Implementation Project will host its next quarterly meeting, “Tribes, Intertribal Organizations, and the Declaration,” on September 10, 2026, from noon–1:30 p.m. Mountain Time via Zoom. The roundtable will explore opportunities for international engagement and implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Panelists include Fawn Sharp and Jennifer Weddle, with commentary from Linda Benally and Honor Keeler. Register here.
TIP has also published a new article highlighting key takeaways from the July 2026 session of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
As some Tribes reject hyperscale data centers in Indian Country, others are embracing data center development. Others are imposing moratoria on data centers to allow for further studies and policy development. Below is a snapshot of what Tribes are doing. It illustrates the diversity of Tribes in the US, and it shows Tribes acting as governments, regulators, landowners, utility operators, infrastructure owners, investors, economic development actors, and political communities as they decide what tech development should look like on their lands.
Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma: Released a Data Center Task Force report on August 5, 2026 and is now banning hyperscale data centers on tribally owned and trust lands.
Seminole Nation of Oklahoma: On March 7, 2026, the Tribal Council unanimously voted for a moratorium on generative-AI and hyperscale data center development within its jurisdiction. The resolution also bars “any inquiries, discussions and/or developments concerning any entity seeking to develop a data center of any size within the Seminole Nation during the moratorium period.”
Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians: Supports a moratorium. The Tribe adopted a resolution on May 19, 2026 supporting the state of Michigan establishing a temporary moratorium on large-scale data centers and cryptocurrency mining until a Tribal consultation process is established, including comprehensive environmental and cultural impact assessments on any legislation involving large-scale data centers and cryptocurrency mining.
Muscogee (Creek) Nation: Rejected. In November 2025, the National Council rejected a measure that would have developed a data center at Looped Square Ranch, where land is being used for Tribal food sovereignty.
Hoopa Valley Tribe: Supports, under Tribal ownership. Hoopa opened a new data center on July 17, 2026, but it’s not a hyperscale data center. It’s a tribally-owned facility serving as the operational hub of Hoopa’s fiber-to-home broadband network and Acorn Connected, its Tribal internet service provider.
Forest County Potawatomi Community: Yes, and has been doing it for years. Its enterprise Data Holdings operates a commercial data center in Milwaukee on trust land and is 100% Tribally owned. It opened in 2013 as a $33 million wholesale data center and now provides colocation/private cloud services and hosts the Milwaukee Internet Exchange.
Navajo Nation: Yes. Navajo Tribal Utility Authority operates a data center in Shiprock on the Navajo Nation offering colocation, virtualization and high-speed optical backhaul to off-reservation points-of-presence in Albuquerque and Phoenix. NTUA is a Navajo Nation enterprise, and the facility serves both Navajo and outside government and business customers.
Colusa Indian Community: Actively pursuing AI infrastructure. The Community’s Colusa Indian Energy announced a partnership in March 2026 with Strata Expanse to develop an AI and energy infrastructure campus on the land of the Cachil Dehe Band of Wintun Indians of the Colusa Indian Community in Northern California. Plans include expanding on-site energy generation capacity to more than 100 MW over the next 18 months.
Osage Nation: Debating a data center approved in February 2026 by the City of Sand Springs on the Osage reservation. The proposed data center would be operated by Google, and construction is planned to begin in 2027. The developers are seeking support from the Osage Minerals Council, which controls the nation’s 1.47 million acre oil and gas subsurface.
July 20 article by Melanie Henshaw, published by InvestigateWest. Link to article is here. The article isn’t a polemical attack on tribes; it identifies a number of structural reasons for this phenomenon.
State Rep. Chris Stearns, D-Auburn, a citizen of the Navajo Nation and sponsor of the state bill on pension access for tribes, says that in his experience working closely with tribes, there’s a strong desire to hire qualified candidates that will best protect the needs, culture, and interests of tribal citizens, elders, and children.
Native Americans face the highest risk of deadly police violence of any race, and 2026 research from the University of Washington shows Native Americans on and near reservations face a disproportionate risk of being killed by police, with the report stating that a “coordinated public health response to police violence is urgently needed in Indian Country.”
“They should have an interest in hiring the best people,” Stearns said. “You don’t want your elders to get roughed up by someone, that goes against our values.”
The Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan (ITCMI) released its FY2025 Annual Report on August 10, 2026, and it reported that the federal government revoked more than $23 million in EPA grant funding, creating “substantial obstacles” for Tribal communities and programs across Michigan.
$20 million of the lost funding was part of an EPA Community Change Grant awarded to ITCMI in partnership with the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians for “Making Michigan Tribal Homes & Buildings Efficient, Healthy, and Resilient.” The project planned to work with six Michigan Tribes to retrofit and electrify at least 300 Tribal homes and convert twelve Tribal government buildings into community resilience hubs. Funding would also have supported roof and electrical repairs, insulation and ventilation improvements, electric appliances, indoor-air-quality equipment, and Tribal staff responsible for overseeing the work.
Another $3 million of the lost funding was part of an EPA Community Change Grant awarded to ITCMI in partnership with the Bay Mills Indian Community for “Michigan Tribal and State Manoomin/Mnoomin/Mnomen Stewardship.” Developed with Michigan’s twelve federally recognized Tribes, ITCMI, the State of Michigan EGLE, and the University of Michigan Water Center, the project would have supported implementation of the Tribal-State Manoomin Stewardship Plan. It specifically contemplated participation by Tribal elders, traditional ricers, and knowledge keepers in the Michigan Wild Rice Initiative and supported their participation in stewardship and decision-making.
Together, these two awards account for $23 million, although ITCMI’s reference to more than $23 million in its Annual Report indicates that its total revoked EPA funding may extend beyond these two grants.
ITCMI Lawsuit Update
ITCMI is now one of the plaintiffs challenging EPA’s termination of the Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant program in Appalachian Voices v. EPA. In court filings, ITCMI warned that the experience could deepen distrust of the federal government and make Tribes more hesitant to partner with ITCMI in future federally funded projects.
The litigation remains active. A federal district court dismissed the case in August 2025, but on July 21, 2026, the D.C. Circuit vacated that dismissal and returned the case to the district court. The case therefore continues while Michigan Tribal communities remain without funding that had been awarded for housing and manoomin stewardship.
Last Friday we posted on the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation’s move to weaken Section 106’s consultation requirements. We emphasized that the proposed rule, which hasn’t yet been published in the Federal Register, may include a short window of 30 days for submission of comments.
Likely Problems with an Anticipated Short 30-Day Comment Window
Thirty days is notably short, not consistent with best practices identified by EO 13563(2)(b) and EO 12866(6)(a)(1), and unlikely to afford sufficient opportunity for meaningful Tribal participation. Once the NPRM is published, Tribes will need to share the draft with their THPOs, legal counsel, natural resources and cultural staff, executive leadership, and Tribal Council before submitting their comments. The process for Tribal government preparation of comments is profoundly different than national industry associations and corporations, which have dedicated regulatory counsel whose jobs are dedicated to monitoring and immediately responding to federal rulemaking. If ACHP publishes the notice of proposed rulemaking with only 30 days for comments, Tribes and their advocates could consider immediately requesting an extension to at least 60 or even 90 days. The argument would be that given the breadth of the proposed revisions and the consultation and internal review required for affected Tribes, a longer period is necessary to provide a meaningful opportunity for informed comment.
Tribes Can Request a Meeting with OIRA within OMB to Address Changes to Section 106 Now
Tribes and other interested parties don’t have to wait for the comment period to engage. They can weigh in now by requesting a meeting with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within OMB. OIRA review isn’t just an internal federal process conducted behind closed doors. Interested parties, including Tribes, can request meetings while regulatory actions are under review. Regulated industries routinely use these opportunities, and Tribes should know that the same opportunity is available to them. All Tribes should know that they don’t have to wait until the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register to make their concerns known.
The link to request a meeting is here. To request a meeting, you’ll need to provide the Regulatory Identification Number (RIN) for OIRA’s current review of amendments to the Implementing Regulations for Section 106. The RIN is 3010-AA10. OIRA’s role in the rulemaking process is described in EO 12866.
There are no OIRA meetings currently scheduled with Tribes or Tribal organizations regarding its consideration of changes to Section 106 regulations, although the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (NATHPO) reports that they submitted a request for a meeting on August 11. So far, OIRA met with Edison Electric Institute on August 13, and it has meetings scheduled for the Society for American Archaeology, the Wisconsin SHPO, the WA Dept of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, Agora Consulting LLC on behalf of the American Cultural Resources Association, and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers.
A How To Guide for EO 12866 meetings (Meetings on a Regulatory Action under Review with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs) is available on the OIRA website here.
The Senate confirmed Mark Cruz (Klamath Tribes) to serve as Director of the Indian Health Service on August 7 by a 51-47 vote. His confirmation ended more than 18 months without a Senate-confirmed IHS Director following the departure of former Director Roselyn Tso in January 2025.
At his June 24 confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Cruz stated that he intends to advocate “ferociously” for improved health outcomes in Indian Country. The Committee’s hearing page, including Cruz’s testimony, is available here.
Cruz will also retain his position as Senior Advisor on Tribal Health to HHS Secretary RFK, Jr. while serving as IHS Director. Holding both positions simultaneously is unusual given the size and operational responsibilities of IHS, which provides health services to about 2.8 million American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Cruz’ dual role may be particularly important to watch in light of recent changes in IHS public health communications under Secretary Kennedy. ProPublica reported last fall that IHS officials had begun flagging terms including “vaccines” and “immunizations” as risky “buzzwords” requiring additional review by agency public information officers before their use in social media updates, pamphlets, and presentations. Current and former IHS clinicians told ProPublica that the restrictions interfered with their ability to communicate effectively with patients, and one IHS doctor said that the restrictions led to her decision to leave the agency.
The ProPublica report takes on added significance in light of internal CDC emails recently made public by Sen. Bernie Sanders. The emails released in late June of this year don’t concern IHS or Cruz directly, but they document centralized HHS oversight of the CDC’s vaccine communications, including HHS direction about vaccine-related material that had been removed from CDC websites and what content would be put back online. The emails don’t establish that HHS directed the IHS restrictions reported by ProPublica, but they provide important context for Cruz’s unusual dual role, since he was already serving as Secretary Kennedy’s Senior Advisor on Tribal Health before becoming IHS Director and will now serve simultaneously in the Secretary’s office and at the head of IHS. Whether Cruz uses his new position to protect IHS clinicians’ ability to communicate evidence-based public health information is worth watching.
Citizens of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Michigan’s largest federally recognized Tribe with more than 50,000 citizens, will vote on a proposed new Constitution that would significantly restructure its Tribal government.
The Tribe’s current Constitution, adopted in 1975, vests governing authority in a Board of Directors and provides for a Chairperson to be elected by the voters of the Tribe who then serves as a member of the Board. The proposed Constitution would establish three co-equal branches, including a 12-member Tribal Council, an executive branch led by an independently elected Tribal Ogemaa, and a constitutionally established judiciary consisting of a Trial Court called the Court of Gweyakwaadziwin (Honesty) and a Supreme Court called the Court of Nbwaakawin (Wisdom). It also expressly provides that the Tribal citizens are the source of governmental authority and that powers not granted to the government are reserved to the citizenship.
The proposal also includes a detailed Bill of Rights protecting, among other things, religious and cultural beliefs; speech and press; privacy against unreasonable searches and seizures; criminal process rights; equal protection, application, and opportunity under the law; whistleblower protection; the right to own, bear, and use arms; and property rights. It also expressly addresses sovereign immunity and waivers of immunity, suits against elected officials and employees acting in their official capacity or within the scope of their authority, and the right of citizens to bring Tribal Court actions to enforce constitutional rights.
Anishinaabe language and law are reflected throughout the proposed Constitution. The Preamble invokes Anishinaabe Bimaadziwin (the Anishinaabe way of life) and the Seven Grandfather Teachings, and Tribal courts would have jurisdiction over matters arising under Tribal customs as well as the Tribe’s Constitution, treaties, and laws.
The proposal also constitutionalizes the Mackinac Band as a seventh historical band for citizenship purposes, resolving a longstanding difference between the existing Constitution which does not include the Mackinac Band, and the Tribe’s Membership Ordinance, which does.
Turtle Talk 
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