Traci L. Morris, PhD
Dr. Morris is the executive director of the American Indian Policy (AIPI) Institute and a research professor at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. She is a member of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma. Dr. Morris is a leading scholar on the subject of Tribal Digital Sovereignty and is expected to release a new book on the topic in 2025.
Under her leadership, the AIPI has expanded its services to Indian Country, providing policy analysis, tribally driven research, and capacity building. Dr. Morris has worked with partners such as the National Congress of American Indians, the Native American Finance Officers Association, and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society. She is an expert in tribal broadband access and has testified at the Federal Communications Commission and Capitol Hill. Additionally, she is knowledgeable about Tribal digital equity, broadband policies, and digital sovereignty.
Throughout her career, Dr. Morris has worked with Native American nations, Tribal businesses, and Native American non-profits. Her research and publications focus on Internet use, digital inclusion, network neutrality, digital equity, and the development of broadband networks in Indian Country. In 2019, she spearheaded and co-authored the Tribal Technology Assessment: The State of Internet Service on Tribal Lands. Her book, Native American Voices: A Reader, is widely used as a teaching tool in colleges nationwide.
Dr. Morris is Affiliated Faculty at ASU's School for the Future of Innovation in Society and American Indian Studies. She is also affiliated with ASU's Center for Gender Equity in Science and Technology and ASU’s Center on Technology, Data, and Society. Additionally, she serves as a Sustainability Scholar in the ASU School of Sustainability and is involved in community service through her participation on multiple boards of Tribal organizations. Formerly, she served two-year appointments (2014-2016 and 2010-2012) to the Federal Communications Commission's Consumer Advisory Committee and was a member of the Advisory Board for the Department of Labor's Native American Employment and Training Council.
Before her ASU appointment, Dr. Morris founded Homahota Consulting LLC, a national Native American woman-owned professional services firm. She holds an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Arizona’s American Indian Studies and a B.A. in Liberal Arts from Colorado State University.