Today sovereignty extends beyond land

Center for Tribal Digital Sovereignty

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About the Center

The Center for Tribal Digital Sovereignty is the first institution in the nation dedicated to empowering Tribal Nations to fully exercise their sovereignty in the digital spaces. Founded by the American Indian Policy Institute and the National Congress of American Indians, organizations with a long-standing commitment to closing the digital divide on tribal lands.

The Center's mission is to advance research, policy development and capacity-building across Indian Country, working toward a future in which every Tribal Nation achieves true digital self-determination and Tribal digital sovereignty. 

Quick links

Tribal Digital Sovereignty Guidebook

Learn about Tribal digital sovereignty

What is Tribal digital sovereignty?

A defining principle in American Indian Nations and other Native communities is that federally recognized Tribes are political nations. This distinction anchors Tribal governance and jurisdiction, enabling Nations to exercise self-determination in every arena of life: land, education, healthcare and increasingly, the digital world. 

Tribal Digital Sovereignty (TDS) is an umbrella term that refers to the ability of Tribal Nations to control and manage digital infrastructure, data and technologies in ways that support self-determination and protect community interests. Digital sovereignty is a Tribe’s right to govern their own data, digital networks, spectrum airwaves and infrastructure, asserting control over the way it is built, collected, stored, managed and shared.

What is digital sovereignty in practice?

Digital sovereignty is an expansive governance model that encompasses the full digital ecosystem, including infrastructure, software, regulatory codes and the human expertise required to manage digital life. In practice, this means building and managing Tribal broadband networks that ensure reliable internet connectivity for communities; developing enforceable Tribal codes that regulate data privacy, cybersecurity, spectrum management and intellectual property; and creating frameworks for responsible use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and that preserve and enhance community well-being. 

These measures also safeguard cultural and linguistic data, promote digital equity and ensure that the benefits of connectivity align with community values.

Read the TDS Guidebook

Generating scholarship for Tribal digital sovereignty

The Center develops and evaluates new knowledge and research related to Tribal digital sovereignty, with emphasis on supporting Tribes in the creation of customized digital sovereignty plans.

AIPI research

  • AIPI, Tribal Technology Assessment: The State of Internet Service on Tribal Lands (2019)
  • Tribal Broadband Policy Priorities 2022
  • AIPI Broadband Brief: Tribal Broadband Funding Opportunity Update
  • Other Research: Reclaiming the Airwaves: An Analysis of Claims to Wireless Spectrum by Tribal Nations Based on Treaty Obligations and the Federal Trust Responsibility

Federal research

Historic

  • NTIA ACCESS BROADBAND Report (Dec. 2021)
  • Native Nations Communications Task Force, Tribal Broadband Report (Nov. 2019)
  • U.S. Department of Interior, National Tribal Broadband Strategy (Jan. 2021)
  • U.S. Department of Interior, Expanding Broadband Access (2021)
  • FCC Broadband Progress/Deployment Reports (1999 - 2021)
  • Government Accountability Office Report, Tribal Broadband: FCC Should Take Efforts to Promote Tribal Access to Spectrum, GAO-19-668T (Sep. 2019)
  • FCC Report on Broadband Deployment in Indian Country, Pursuant to the Repack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern Services Act of 2018 (May 2019)
  • Government Accountability Office Report, FCC's Data Overstate Access on Tribal Lands, GAO-18-630 (Sep. 2018)

Policy analysis

Digital sovereignty 

  • Montana TikTok Ban Oversteps Tribal Jurisdiction and Counters Movement to Strengthen Tribal Digital Sovereignty - Native American Rights Fund
  • NARF Amicus Brief

 

BIA Office of Connectivity and Technology

  • US Department of the Interior Indigenous Connectivity and Technology Division

ISOC data

Coming soon.

Explore by topic

Artificial Intelligence Tribal digital sovereignty
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Blog: AI in Federal Policy

Blog: Tribal Sovereignty in the Age of AI

Tribal Digital Sovereignty Guidebook

Broadband dashboard

Digital sovereignty and Tribal Nations

Read the TDS Guidebook

Photo by Ernie Rasmussen, Bigfoot Communications

Data is kin

Innovation and tradition in balance 

Steward the digital world as we do land 

Digital resilience across Nations 

Community-centric digital futures

© 2025 Arizona Board of Regents/Arizona State University

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The digital sovereignty ecosystem

Tribal Nations have a unique digital ecosystem shaped by sovereignty, governance, and community priorities. This ecosystem includes three interconnected layers—society, rights, and governance; the digital economy; and digital infrastructure. Like interlocking gears, they overlap and must be addressed together.

These layers are mutually dependent: Tribal governance and rights should guide infrastructure and economic development, while community needs shape policy and deployment decisions.

Their intersection forms the foundation of Tribal Digital Sovereignty (TDS)—where governance, infrastructure, and economic systems work in alignment with cultural values and community priorities.

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Tribal digital sovereignty ecosystem

 Society, rights and governance

Central to all layers, it weaves between and around each and includes sovereignty, governance, policy, digital stewardship, regulatory frameworks and community safeguards.

 Digital economy

Activities that expand economic opportunity and self-determination like online gaming, e-commerce, remote work, telehealth and e-learning. It is reliant on infrastructure and proper governance to function.

 Digital infrastructure

This is the base layer of the ecosystem and involves connectivity, human expertise, affordability and efforts to bridge the digital divide, ensuring technology is accessible and sustainable within Tribal communities.

© 2025 Arizona Board of Regents/Arizona State University

Digital sovereignty blog

Fact Sheet: NTIA Issues Press Release Announcing Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program Reforms

November 25, 2025  /  Morgan Gray

The National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) issued a new press release on November 12, 2025 announcing reforms to the…

Tribal Digital Sovereignty Guidebook

October 30, 2025  /  

This guidebook is designed to provide a strong foundation for understanding digital sovereignty and Tribal Nations in the United States. It…

Explainer: Tribal Nations Criticize FCC’s Tribal Consultation Efforts on Proposed NEPA and NHPA Rule Updates

October 7, 2025  /  Morgan Gray

Background On August 14, 2025, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) titled “Modernizing the…

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Community

The Center for Tribal Digital Sovereignty operates out of Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.

The Center is part funded by the Ford Foundation and partners with other organizations advancing digital sovereignty; Waskawiwin, ASU’s Center on Technology, Data and Society and the Indian Legal Program at ASU College of Law.

Beus Center downtown ASU

Emerging technologies

Our commitment to Tribal Nations

The Center for Tribal Digital Sovereignty is taking a proactive and thoughtful approach to emerging technologies and artificial intelligence, assessing the opportunities and risks it presents to communities. We prioritize equity, privacy, and human-centered design, ensuring that the solutions we develop deliver social benefit while upholding Tribal rights and dignity. Through continuous research and evaluation, we strive for approaches that reduce inequities, expand access, and positively impact Tribal communities; remaining firmly committed to defending Tribal sovereignty, consent, and self-determination across all technology-related federal policymaking.

In this work, we encourage Tribal Nations to take an active role in shaping their digital futures by developing comprehensive plans for Tribal digital sovereignty, and we honor each Nation’s inherent right to determine its own digital path. By monitoring relevant policy developments, raising awareness when they intersect with digital sovereignty, amplifying Native voices, and offering research-driven recommendations, we work to ensure that technology advances in ways that respect and strengthen Tribal sovereignty.

To further support this effort, we provide research on the challenges and impacts emerging technologies pose for Tribal Nations, offer practical solutions and model codes, host speakers with diverse perspectives, and share guidance for Nations creating or refining their own strategies.

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Capacity-building

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American Indian Policy Institute

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