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On Wednesday April 15 2026, at 10:00 PDT (17:00 UTC) the Natural History Museum hosts a virtual roundtable ‘The Data Center Frontier‘.
The session brings together Indigenous land defenders, scholar-activists, and grassroots organizers to examine how the rapid expansion of AI and cloud infrastructure is driving new waves of fossil fuel dependence, mineral extraction, land dispossession, and environmental injustice. Far from the immaterial “cloud” promised by Silicon Valley, data centers are vast, resource-intensive industrial facilities whose growth is reshaping landscapes, energy systems, and political struggles across North America.
Drawing lessons from Indigenous-led fights against pipelines, mining projects, and other forms of extractive infrastructure—as well as successful campaigns to block data centers—speakers will share insights from the frontlines of the data center frontier and explore how movements across sites and issues can build durable solidarities in the face of a rapidly expanding digital-industrial regime.
SPEAKERS
Jordan B. Kinder (Métis): Red Natural History Fellow / author of “Petroturfing: Refining Canadian Oil through Social Media” (2024)
Krystal Two Bulls (Oglala Lakota/Cheyenne) – Executive Director, Honor the Earth
Thea Riofrancos – Scholar / author of “Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism” (2025)
Vivek Bharathan -Technologist, No Desert Data Center / Coalition organizer / MediaJustice Data Center Fellow
#datacenters #indigenous @The_NHM