NEWS
Project Jupiter developers to change company name after criticism from Acoma Pueblo
Acoma governor called the use of its name 'corporate appropriation'
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Developers behind the Project Jupiter data center in southern New Mexico will change the name of their company, Acoma LLC, after pueblo leadership criticized the branding as culturally appropriative and deceptive.
鈥淥ur name is not a brand,鈥� Acoma Gov. Charles Riley said in a Journal opinion column that ran Sunday. 鈥淚t is not a marketing tool and it is not available for corporate appropriation.鈥�
Riley said beyond violating the pueblo鈥檚 sovereignty, using the name signals an intentional tactic to 鈥渁ppear locally rooted鈥� amid outcry from residents.
In response to criticism, the company announced that it would adopt the name of its parent company, Yucca Growth Infrastructure.
"We heard the Acoma Pueblo people and we listened,鈥� said Bryson Hull, a spokesperson for Yucca Growth Infrastructure, in a statement. 鈥淣o offense was intended and we apologize for any it caused. Out of respect, we will use a different name going forward.鈥�
While Riley said he was glad to hear of the name change in a statement Tuesday, he noted that the company has yet to directly communicate with the pueblo.
Riley was unavailable for an interview Wednesday.
Controversy over Acoma LLC is just the latest obstacle for developers working on the contentious Project Jupiter, a 1,400-acre data center complex being built in Santa Teresa. When finished, the center will be used to train artificial intelligence, primarily for tenant OpenAI, which runs the popular service ChatGPT.
Residents have routinely protested the project and local leaders are questioning the company鈥檚 claims about air pollution and water usage.
Riley compared the data center to other extractive industries like uranium mining and ongoing oil and gas development around Chaco Canyon, a sacred site for many local Indigenous groups.
鈥淚t continues a centuries-long pattern in which outside interests have seized what belongs to us: our land, our water, our culture and now our very name,鈥� Riley wrote.
Gillian Barkhurst can be reached at gbarkhurst@abqjournal.com. Algernon 顿鈥橝尘尘补蝉蝉补 can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.
