Technology

The increasing prevalence of digital technology presents both new challenges and potential tools for Tribal Nations. Discussions in this area focus on how Tribal sovereignty can be upheld in a digital world and how Tribal governments can manage technology's influence according to their own values and traditions. The goal is to ensure Tribal Nations are in a position to guide the development of technology policy, rather than being subjected to it.

A primary concern is the potential for new technologies, especially AI, to negatively impact Tribal communities. Historically, Indigenous data, cultural knowledge, and traditional stories have been used and misrepresented without consent. In the modern era, a similar risk exists in the digital realm. AI systems that learn from vast amounts of public internet data may amplify existing biases, create inaccurate portrayals of Tribal cultures, or misuse sacred information.

This has led to the development of the principle of Tribal Digital Sovereignty. This is defined as the inherent right of each Tribal Nation to govern its own digital information, online presence, and technology infrastructure. It is rooted in the idea that a Tribal Nation's authority over its land, people, and culture should extend to the digital domain, allowing it to protect its heritage in a changing world.

The conversation is not about whether technology is inherently good or bad, but about how Tribal Nations can maintain control and ensure that any use of technology aligns with their cultural principles and serves the well-being of their communities. The focus is on establishing a protective framework that prioritizes the preservation of culture, data, and sovereignty.

Mandate Guided by Membership Resolutions

All of NCAI's advocacy and policy work in the technology and AI sector is fundamentally guided by the direction and formal mandates set forth by our membership. The actions detailed in this report are a direct execution of the principles established in numerous resolutions.

NCAI’s members have established a clear and unified position on Tribal Digital Sovereignty through resolutions including NC-24-008 ("Supporting Tribal Digital Sovereignty as an Exercise of Self-Determination"), which builds upon foundational resolutions PDX-11-034, ANC-22-010, SAC-22-016, and SAC-22-026.

At the June 2026 Midyear Convention, NCAI unanimously adopted Resolution MEM-26-016, demanding a federal moratorium on hyperscale data center permits. The resolution mandates early government-to-government consultation, independent environmental impact assessments, Winters doctrine water protections, operator-funded grid upgrades to protect ratepayers, and binding Tribal benefit-sharing agreements.

These resolutions provide a clear and unified directive for all of NCAI's work. They affirm the inherent sovereign right of Tribal Nations to enforce their own laws and standards over all data collection, management, and use. This ultimate authority empowers Tribal Nations to assert ownership over their data and require all non-Tribal entities to comply with Tribal protocols.

Areas of Focus for Governance and Protection

Upholding Tribal Digital Sovereignty: Ensuring that federal policies formally recognize the right of Tribal Nations to control their digital assets, data, and infrastructure. This includes making sure that new technologies cannot be used to bypass Tribal laws or protocols for data collection and use.

Data Control and Consent: Requiring that any organization, including federal agencies, must obtain FPIC from Tribal Nations before using their data, especially for training AI systems. This reinforces a Nation's authority over its own information, drawing on established guidelines like the Principles Collective benefit, Authority to control, Responsibility, and Ethics (CARE) Principles for Indigenous Data Governance.

Preventing Digital Misrepresentation: Addressing the risk of AI systems generating inaccurate or culturally harmful information due to a lack of authentic Tribal data in their training. This includes exploring ways to ensure that digital information sources can be traced, preventing the silent rewriting of Tribal histories by algorithms.

Community-Controlled Infrastructure: Supporting Tribal-led efforts to build necessary infrastructure, such as internet connectivity and data storage centers. This allows communities to manage their own digital resources on their own lands, reducing reliance on outside entities and ensuring data is held securely according to Tribal directives.

Capacity Building for Community Members: Investing in education and training that equips Tribal citizens with the skills to understand and manage modern technology. The goal is to empower community members to make informed decisions and fill technology-related roles themselves.

Protection of Cultural and Intellectual Heritage: Developing new legal safeguards for TK to prevent it from being copied and used by AI systems without permission. This treats sacred and Traditional Knowledge (TK) as the sovereign intellectual property of the Tribal Nation to which it belongs to.

Meaningful Government-to-Government Consultation: Ensuring that Tribal Nations are consulted directly and respectfully on all federal policies related to technology and AI. This includes advocating for the inclusion of Tribal leaders and experts on federal bodies that govern technology.

Associated Organizations

  • American Indian Policy Institute at Arizona State University

  • NARF

  • World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

  • IndigiGenius

  • Google

Associated NCAI Bodies

Associated Committees, Subcommittees, and Task Forces

  • Economic, Finance, and Community Development Committee

  • Technology and Telecommunications Subcommittee

  • Technology Task Force

Associated Legislation and E.O.s

  1. Presidential E.O. 14179 on Removing Barriers to American Leadership in AI (January 2025): This order directs federal agencies to identify and remove regulatory barriers hindering AI innovation. NCAI's advocacy ensures that this process respects the government-to-government relationship and that the removal of "barriers" does not weaken protections for Tribal data, cultural assets, or the environment.

  2. E.O. 14277 – Advancing AI Education for American Youth (April 2025): This order directs federal agencies to promote AI literacy and education for young people. NCAI's advocacy focuses on ensuring that these educational initiatives are inclusive of Tribal youth and TCUs and that they incorporate culturally relevant curricula to empower the next generation of Indigenous innovators.

  3. Ratepayer Protection Act (H.R. 9340 / S. 5028): This bipartisan legislation amends PURPA to require large-load customers—specifically data centers and computational facilities with peak electric demand of 100 megawatts or more—to provide upfront financial assurances covering the full incremental costs of grid generation, transmission, and distribution upgrades. Guided by Resolution MEM-26-016, NCAI advocates for ensuring that these cost-causation rules explicitly protect Tribal utility authorities and ratepayers from absorbing stranded asset expenses, while expanding the bill to safeguard Winters doctrine Tribal water rights, preserve NEPA and NHPA Section 106 reviews, and uphold Tribal civil regulatory authority on sovereign lands.

2025 Achievements

Throughout 2025, NCAI was highly engaged in shaping emerging federal AI policy to ensure the inclusion and protection of Tribal Nations' sovereign interests.

March: NCAI submitted a formal response to the National Science Foundation and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy regarding the development of a national AI Action Plan. The comments provided nine actionable policy recommendations centered on recognizing Tribal Digital Sovereignty, strengthening data consent processes, investing in Tribal infrastructure, and protecting Indigenous knowledge.

October: In a highly active month, NCAI submitted several targeted comments to federal agencies.

On October 20, NCAI called on the FTC to ground its inquiry into AI chatbots in the affirmation of Tribal sovereignty. The comments urged the FTC to investigate the "architecture of deception" in AI models that generate falsehoods about Tribal histories and to consult directly with each Tribal Nation.

On October 27, NCAI responded to the White House's request for information on AI regulatory reform with a "roadmap to victory" for winning the global AI race by partnering with Tribal Nations. Key action items included establishing a White House Council on AI and Indigenous Peoples, mandating a Tribal set-aside in the National AI Research Resourcebia, and issuing executive guidance to protect TK as sovereign intellectual property.

On November 4, NCAI commended the DOI for issuing Secretarial Order 3444 to guide AI transformation but urged the Secretary to move beyond internal governance. NCAI called for formal consultation and requested that the Order be amended to add a permanent seat for a Tribal representative on DOI's AI Governance Board to ensure the government-to-government relationship is embedded in the agency's AI strategy.

Convenings and Direct Engagement: NCAI leadership actively participated in national dialogues to advance these policy goals. This included a panel discussion at the Wiring the Rez conference in Phoenix, Arizona, hosted by Arizona State University. NCAI's General Counsel and Chief of Staff, alongside the Executive Director of the Center for Tribal Digital Sovereignty and Governor Stephen Lewis of the Gila River Indian Community, led a critical session on "Building a Body of Policy on AI Serving Tribal Digital Sovereignty." The discussion focused on creating actionable legal and policy frameworks to protect Tribal interests in the age of AI. Before the conference, NCAI representatives also conducted a site visit to Gila River Telecommunications, Inc., to observe firsthand the innovative efforts of a Tribal enterprise in building and managing critical broadband infrastructure.

2026 Achievements

January 14, 2026 (Technology Task Force Virtual Quarterly Meeting #1): Facilitated the inaugural 2026 Task Force meeting (Co-Chairs: Matthew Rantanen and Sherry Treppa; 25 attendees representing Tribal leadership and partner organizations). Established the core strategy to divide broad AI policy into targeted emergency resolutions, prioritizing opposition to NEPA fast-tracking and non-disclosure agreements, while initiating audits for expiring 2.5 GHz Tribal spectrum licenses.

January 2026 (Broadband Infrastructure & Consultation): Issued a formal statement on January 19 raising serious concerns over the federal cancellation of approximately $160 million in TBCP funding, calling on NTIA to honor awarded funds, pause new rule changes, and engage in meaningful government-to-government consultation.

January 2026 (AI Infrastructure and Water Protection): Submitted formal opposition on January 28 to S. 3585 (DATA Act), warning Congress that fast-tracking energy infrastructure for hyperscale AI data centers threatens reserved Tribal water rights under the Winters doctrine and circumvents mandatory NEPA and NHPA Section 106 environmental and historic reviews.

April 8, 2026 (Technology Task Force Virtual Quarterly Meeting #2): Led the second virtual Task Force meeting (~17 attendees). Initiated emergency resolution drafting to legally distinguish resource-intensive commercial hyperscalers from sovereign Tribal micro-data centers, launched tracking for federal/state technology legislation (H.R. 8031, H.R. 5227, WA HB 2515), and began development of an Indigenous Risk Assessment Tool to vet vendor AI applications against Tribal cultural integrity.

May 2026 (Airspace Sovereignty and Drone Governance): Filed comments on May 1 regarding FCC Public Notice DA 26-314, proposing a Tribal Blanket Experimental Authorization, Section 106 historic reviews for Innovation Zones, ECIP vertical spectrum lease extensions, recognition of non-preempted Tribal drone ordinances, and mandatory Indigenous Data Governance/CARE Principles certifications for payload data collection.

June 14, 2026 (Technology Task Force In-Person Meeting #3): Organized the third Task Force session in Memphis, Tennessee (12 attendees). Evaluated submitted data center resolutions, successfully refining and advancing Resolution MEM-26-016 through committee review while establishing an educational outreach strategy to assist Tribes in evaluating cooling, power, and water impacts.

June 2026 (Universal Service Fund and Digital Inclusion): Submitted reply comments on June 2 opposing proposed FCC Lifeline verification mandates—including nine-digit Social Security number requirements and continuous digital wallet tracking—while advocating for a $75/month enhanced Tribal Lifeline benefit increase to offset the expiration of the ACP and to end the voice-only phase-down.

June 2026 (Midyear Convention and Resolution #MEM-26-016): Membership adopted Emergency Resolution MEM-26-016 (Calling for a Moratorium on Hyperscale Data Center Permits Pending Comprehensive Environmental and Tribal Impact Assessment), establishing a core policy baseline that legally distinguishes energy- and water-intensive commercial hyperscale data centers from localized Tribal sovereign micro-data centers.

June 2026 (FCC FM Transmitter Filing Window Extension Success): Secured an official deadline extension from the FCC for the noncommercial education FM transmitter filing window following a joint urgent petition with Native Public Media (NPM), directly accommodating Tribal government schedules during summer recess.

July 2026 (Critical Infrastructure and Cultural Site Protection): Submitted comments on July 6 regarding FAA Notice No. 26-03 (14 C.F.R. Part 74), urging the FAA to remove the 500-inmate threshold that excludes all 77 Tribal justice facilities from critical airspace protections, incorporate NHPA Section 304confidentiality rules for sacred sites like Snoqualmie Falls, and mandate Tribal consultation for restrictions within five miles of Tribal trust lands.

July 8, 2026 (Technology Task Force Virtual Quarterly Meeting #3): Facilitated the fourth Task Force meeting (17 attendees). Coordinated a 40-delegate Tribal advocacy push on the Capitol Hill and at the FCC for Upper C-band spectrum priority, mobilized comments for the FAA drone rule extension (due August 5), expanded MEM-26-016 support frameworks (aligning with Honor the Earth and supporting the Spokane Tribe's DOE Tribal Data Center Exploration Cohort entry), and partnered with Indigitech to address late-2026 Tribal 2.5 GHz license expirations.

July 2026 (Mid-Band Spectrum Priority): Submitted an ex parte filing on July 16 urging the FCC to establish a dedicated Tribal licensing mechanism or spectrum reserve in the reconfigured Upper C-band (3.98–4.14 GHz) auction rather than foreclosing Tribal wireless access over sovereign lands.

July 2026 (Tech Sovereignty National Briefing and AI Governance): Hosted the national webinar Tech Sovereignty: A Tribal Leader's Guide to the AI Era on July 22, drawing 1,500 registrants and 700 active participants. Executive leadership reaffirmed the membership’s adoption of Resolution MEM-26-016 demanding a moratorium on expedited AI data center permitting, previewed a comprehensive Palm Springs AI Resolution for the October 2026 Annual Convention, and presented actionable strategies on water and power resource evaluation, biological and genomic data protections, centralized Tribal AI benefit tools, and closed-loop intertribal cloud networks for language preservation.

Next Year Goals: 2027

Tribal Digital Sovereignty and Data Governance

  • Indigenous AI Risk Assessment Tool: Create the Indigenous AI Risk Assessment Tool by Q2 2027 to vet vendor agreements, assess algorithmic bias, and protect cultural and genomic assets.

  • Tribal Policy Repository: Compile and publish a searchable repository of at least 25 anonymized Tribal AI policies and governance codes by Q3 2027 to serve as a model for Tribal Councils nationwide.

  • Mandatory Consent & CARE Principles: Advocate for federal regulations requiring non-Tribal entities collecting payload, optical, or biological data over Tribal lands to submit process-based attestations of FPIC and compliance with the CARE Principles.

AI and Hyperscale Infrastructure

  • Hyperscale Assessment Framework: Operationalize Resolution MEM-26-016 by releasing a Model Tribal Environmental and Resource Assessment Framework for Hyperscale Data Centers by Q2 2027, helping Tribal Nations evaluate water, power grid, and environmental impacts.

  • Federal Moratoria and Environmental Review: Secure statutory and administrative provisions establishing moratoria on expedited federal permitting for hyperscale data centers until independent Tribal Environmental Impact Assessments are conducted.

  • White House Advisory Council: Persuade Congress and the Executive Branch to establish a formal White House Council on AI and Indigenous Peoples to embed nation-to-nation consultation into all federal technology policies.

Airspace Sovereignty, Spectrum and Telecom

  • 2.5 GHz Spectrum Protection: Provide technical assistance to the approximately 150 Tribal Nations with expiring 2.5 GHz licenses, securing FCC build-out extensions or completing benchmark filings.

  • Upper C-Band Spectrum Access: Secure a dedicated Tribal spectrum set-aside or expedited licensing window in the FCC’s final Report and Order for the Upper C-band (3.98–4.14 GHz) auction.

  • Model Tribal Drone Ordinance: Draft and distribute a Model Tribal Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Drone) Ordinance by Q1 2027, empowering Tribal Nations to assert civil regulatory authority over reservation airspace under Montana v. United States principles.

  • Critical Infrastructure and Sacred Site Protection: Eliminate the 500-inmate threshold under 14 C.F.R. Part 74 to extend airspace protection to all 77 Tribal justice facilities, incorporate NHPA Section 304 confidentiality for sacred sites like Snoqualmie Falls, and advocate for counter-unmanned aircraft systems statutory enforcement parity for Tribal law enforcement.

Bipartisan Congressional Advocacy and Legislation

  • Bipartisan Bill Cosponsorship: Secure at least five Republican and five Democratic cosponsors for the Ratepayer Protection Act (H.R. 9340 / S. 5028).

  • Statutory AI and Technology Guardrails: Ensure federal AI legislation (such as H.R. 8031, the Guardrails Act, and S. 3050, the AI Advancement Act) explicitly protects Tribal Digital Sovereignty and recognizes TK as sovereign intellectual property.

  • Congressional Staff Briefings: Conduct at least four quarterly briefings for congressional staffers on membership-adopted technology resolutions.

2027 Resolution Pipeline and Intertribal Collaboration

  • 2027 Resolution Sponsor Cohort: Form a drafting cohort with Technology Task Force members by Q2 2027 to co-sponsor technology resolutions for the 2027 Midyear and Annual Conventions.

  • Emerging Technology Policy Mandates: Co-develop 2027 resolutions addressing:

    • Genomic and Bio-Data Sovereignty: Protocols restricting AI models from scraping Indigenous DNA and health data without consent.

    • Tribal Airspace Safeguards: Severe federal penalties for unsanctioned civilian drone flights over active wildfire zones on Tribal lands.

  • Bipartisan Congressional Action Kits: Convert 100 percent of adopted 2026 technology resolutions into turnkey policy briefs and legislative text within 90 days of convention passage for deliverly directly to congressional leadership.

Infrastructure Support and Closed-Loop Innovation

  • TBCP Funding Reinstatement: Push Congress and NTIA to honor all previously awarded commitments and fully reinstate the approximately $160 million in revoked TBCP funds.

  • Enhanced Lifeline Benefit: Formally petition the FCC to adopt a permanent $75-per-month enhanced Tribal Lifeline benefit increase to offset the expiration of ACP.

Footer Zig