Heather Dawn Thompson focuses her practice on American Indian law, federal Indian policy and advocacy, tribal sovereignty, tribal economic development (including energy, finance, and telecom), community, sovereign economic development, and tribal nation building (including constitutions, codes, and courts). She works with individual tribes, tribal and Indian-owned businesses, and intertribal associations.
Prior to joining the firm, Heather was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the U.S. Attorney's Office in South Dakota's Indian Country Section. There, she was an Indian Country Federal Prosecutor on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Heather covered violent sex crimes and violence against women.
Heather is widely recognized for her work while serving as the Director of Government Affairs for the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), the nation’s oldest and largest inter-tribal organization.
Heather is the Past President of both the South Dakota Indian Country Bar Association and the National Native American Bar Association. Heather is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.
Capabilities
- American Indian Law
- Litigation
- Regulatory & Compliance
- Opportunity Zone Funds
- Food, Beverage & Agribusiness
