Ernie Stevens, Jr. is the Chairman and national spokesperson for the Indian Gaming Association (IGA) in Washington, D.C. Stevens is currently in his ninth two-year term as the organization’s leader, which is a position elected by the member tribes of the Indian Gaming Association.

As Chairman of IGA, Stevens represents the Indian gaming industry. In this role, he has worked to educate Congress, the media and the public about the positive impacts of Indian gaming on tribal and nearby communities. Stevens is also responsible for shaping policy initiatives that have the potential to impact the industry. Stevens has led the Association and worked to protect Tribal Sovereignty and strengthen the Indian gaming industry. During his tenure, Indian gaming revenues have risen from $11 billion in 2000 to over $37.3 billion in 2017 making Tribal Government Gaming the largest segment of the Gaming Industry in the United States, passing Commercial Gaming.

From 1993 to 1999 Stevens served as an elected councilman for the Oneida Nation in Wisconsin. He is a former First Vice-President of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI). As a respected leader in Indian Country, Stevens also serves as a long-standing board member on the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development (NCAID), the Nike N7 Foundation Board, the Executive Board of the Center for Native American Youth (CNAY) and the Native American Advisory Board for the Boys & Girls Club of America (BGCA).

Chairman Stevens received an Associate’s degree from Haskell Indian Nations University in 1983. Stevens also earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Mount Scenario College in Ladysmith, Wisconsin (1986.)

Chairman Stevens is an enrolled member of the Oneida Nation in Wisconsin. He and his wife Cheryl have been married for 35 years. Together they have 5 children and 15 grandchildren.