Tempe Office

PRACTICE AREAS

• Regulatory
• Public Law and Policy
• Federal Indian Law
• Labor and Employment for Indian Tribes
• Project Development and Finance for Indian Tribes
• Real Estate and Finance for Indian Tribes
• American Indian Gaming and Compact Negotiation
• American Indian Policy and Regulation
• Hotel and Hospitality for Indian Tribes

Steven Heeley advises Indian tribes on corporate, transactional and natural resources matters, as well as on tribal governance and jurisdictional issues.
Prior to working with Rothstein Donatelli, Steven was a senior policy consultant at large international law firm.  Before that, Steven was a partner with a large law firm in Phoenix, Arizona, where he headed the firm's federal Indian law practice group. He has served as the deputy general counsel for the Gila River Indian Community for over 7 years. In addition, he was an adjunct law professor at Arizona State University, teaching seminars on economic development and applied business transactions in Indian Country and tribal law and government. He also served as a member of the university's advisory committee for the Indian Law Program.  He was a faculty member for Arizona State University's Tribal Financial Managers Certificate Program presenting on Taxation in Indian Country.

During the 104th Congress, Steven served as Staff Director and Chief Counsel to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, which was chaired by Senator John McCain (R-AZ). 
Prior to assuming that role, Steven was Counsel to the Subcommittee on Native American Affairs of the Committee on Natural Resources in the U.S. House of Representatives. Before the creation of this subcommittee, Steven served as the Deputy Counsel on Indian affairs to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs under Chairman George Miller (D-CA).
Earlier in his career, Steven served as Deputy Minority Counsel to Senator McCain on the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs. Before coming to Washington, D.C., Steven was the assistant general counsel for the Gila River Indian Community in Sacaton. He also worked as a staff attorney for the Four Rivers Indian Legal Services Program on the Gila River Indian Reservation.
Steven is a Potawatomi Indian from the Walpole Island First Nation in Ontario, Canada.

EDUCATION

• Dartmouth College (A.B. History/ Native American Studies, 1982)
• University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law (J.D., 1985)

BAR ADMISSIONS

• State Bar of Arizona

REPRESENTATIVE WORK

• Advised an Indian tribe in negotiating a lease agreement and related documents for the development of a 360,000 square foot retail development on trust lands.
• Assisted an Indian tribe in the negotiation of tax-exempt financing pursuant to an award under the Tribal Economic Development Bond program to finance the construction of a three star hotel and related facilities on trust lands.
• Counseled an Indian tribe in the development and construction of a three star casino and related facilities.
• Represented an Indian tribe in the development and construction of a four star casino hotel on trust lands.
• Assisted an Indian tribe in the negotiation of a management agreement for the operation of two championship golf courses.
• Assisted an Indian tribe in the negotiation of a management agreement for the operation a four star resort hotel on trust lands.
• Assisted an Indian tribe in the negotiation of a management agreement for the operation of a three star business hotel on trust lands.
• Assisted an Indian tribe in drafting, negotiating, and implementing HEARTH Act leasing regulations. 
• Assisted an Indian tribe in the negotiation of financing, development, and construction of a K through 8 school on trust lands.
• Assisted an Indian tribe in the negotiation of financing, development, and construction of a K through 5 school on trust lands.  

SPEECHES

• Presenter, State Bar of Arizona Annual Convention 2015, June 24 to 26, 2015.
• Panelist, “Planning for Success: Drafting Effective Arbitration Clauses in Tribal Construction Contracts,” Construction in Indian Country (CIIC) National Conference, April 20 to 22, 2015.
• Presenter, “Building in Indian Country: Understanding and Successfully Navigating Construction Contracts,” Seattle University School of Law, July 8, 2015.
• Panelist, “Redefining the Paradigm,” Construction in Indian Country (CIIC) National Conference, November 6 to 8, 2019.

RECOGNITION

• Reginald Heber Smith Fellow. 

PUBLIC SERVICE AND AFFILIATIONS

• Past Member, board of directors, Native American Bar Association of Arizona
• Deputy General Counsel, Gila River Indian Community
• Staff Director and Chief Counsel, Committee on Indian Affairs, U.S. Senate
• Counsel, Subcommittee on Native American Affairs, Committee on Natural Resources, U.S. House of Representatives
• Deputy Counsel on Indian Affairs, Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs
• Deputy Minority Counsel, Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs, U.S. Senate
• Assistant General Counsel, Gila River Indian Community
• Staff attorney, Four Rivers Indian Legal Services Program,