Oneida nation women sue council member

Pair accuse Clint Hill of assault, and say his status shielded him in nation court.

Saturday, May 14, 2005
By Glenn Coin

Staff writer

Two Oneida Indian women have filed suit in state court against an Oneida Indian Nation Men's Council member, claiming he assaulted them in 2002.

Maisie Shenandoah and her daughter, Diane Schenandoah, say Clint Hill deliberately rammed into Schenandoah with his chest. She fell backward into her mother, who fell to the ground.

Hill was tried and acquitted of assault and harassment in the Oneida nation court in 2002. The women's family said the court was stacked in his favor because of his position with the nation.

The Madison County district attorney tried to bring Hill to trial, but a judge ruled that would be double jeopardy.

Lawyer Donald Daines, who filed the lawsuit in state Supreme Court on behalf of the women, said civil court is a way for them to finally get justice.

"The fact that Clint Hill happens to be on the Men's Council doesn't give him the right to go around committing assault and battery on elderly women," Daines said.

Shenandoah is 72.

Hill could not be reached for comment.

One of his lawyers, Robert Anello, declined to comment until he files his response in court. Anello did not know when that would be.

The lawsuit was filed Feb. 25 in state Supreme Court. The two women say they were walking on Oneida nation territory July 7, 2002, in Oneida with two Madison County sheriff's deputies.

The deputies were investigating the 1981 still-unsolved murder of Tammy Mahoney.

Hill drove up in his car, the lawsuit says, got out and began yelling obscenities at the women. He "immediately lunged at plaintiff Diane Schenandoah, ramming and butting plaintiff Diane with his chest and belly," the suit says.

Schenandoah fell backward into her mother, who "violently struck the back of her head on the gravel driveway," according to the lawsuit. "The incident left Maisie dazed, shaken and in shock."

The allegations are similar to criminal charges first brought by Madison County prosecutors in 2002 in Oneida City Court. Oneida nation prosecutors filed similar charges against Hill in nation court just two weeks later.

Hill asked for a speedy trial in tribal court, and was acquitted after the plaintiffs refused to testify. The women said they did not recognize the legitimacy of the nation court.

Shenandoah and her daughters have long opposed the leadership of nation representative Ray Halbritter, who is Shenandoah's nephew.

Link to Report

See the following Clint Hill Reports from 2002:

Clint Hill Alleged Assault 2002

Last updated on May 26, 2005