[3] Between 1992 and 2016, Steele served seven non-consecutive two-year terms as president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.

[12] In 2020, Steele ran for an eighth term as president against Weston and the incumbent, Julian Bear Runner;[13][14] however, he was unsuccessful in his bid.

[10] He has testified before Congress multiple times, advocating for tribal sovereignty and reminding the US of its treaty obligations.

When Steele took office in 1992, he stated that free enterprise was the solution, and worked to open casinos as an anti-poverty measure.

[3] In February 2015, faced with a large number of suicides among teens and pre-teens on the reservation, Steele declared an emergency.

He successfully got the Indian Health Service to deploy additional counselors, but suicides continued to rise.