Members voted 261-83 in favor of the legislation during their annual tribal council meeting. Any enrolled tribal member over 18 years old can vote in the meetings.
The resolution will ban facilities until October 2029, giving the tribe time to study potential data center impacts.
Most speakers said data centers would pollute the environment. Tribal member Christine Levi was among them.
"Water is our way of life. If we don't protect our lands, who's going to? If we don't stand up for our kids, who's going to?" Levi said. "We have to protect our rights. Our people have fought for our way of life for years."
Another member, Kyle Spotted Horse, compared data centers to early industrial tycoons who approached tribal reservations for profit.
"I feel like it's the old days of the old cattle barons, oil barons, people wanting to exploit our resources," Spotted Horse told attendees. "Oklahomans are adamant against this … I'm here to tell you there are more tribes that are against data centers than are for them."
Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes is the latest nation to join tribes protesting data centers.
Cherokee Nation, Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma have all imposed similar bans. Osage Nation is also considering comparable legislation, while Muscogee Nation is investigating data center impacts.
But while most Cheyenne and Arapaho members opposed the idea of AI-centric data center facilities, Cheyenne and Arapaho Gov. Reggie Wassana held a different view. He argued in favor of them on tribal lands, saying they could drive economic growth through per capita payments.
"All these things that we talk about that we're hurting: food, gas, these things. You guys wouldn't have to worry," Wassana said. "You'd be comfortable. The most comfortable tribe around in western Oklahoma."
Wassana argued data centers are the "wave of the future" and that no economic venture is without environmental impact. He added that developers have pitched constructing facilities on tribal property.
Wassana floated the idea a year ago, saying the tribe could see millions of dollars in profit.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
