Judge hears case in Oneida Indian Nation Court
Dec. 29, 2000

By R. PATRICK CORBETT
Observer-Dispatch

ONEIDA — Oneida Nation Court Judge Stewart F. Hancock Jr. said Thursday he might not have the authority to decide a case that challenges the legitimacy of the Nation’s government.

Hancock, a retired state appeals court judge, heard arguments Thursday by a lawyer representing the Nation and one representing 18 Oneidas suing the Nation and Nation Representative Raymond Halbritter in a case charging civil rights violations.

Two other Nation members were dropped as plaintiffs.

Nation lawyer Peter D. Carmen said the ordinance that created the court three years ago specifically bars it from ruling on matters brought against the Nation’s leadership.

"This is a small group of individuals challenging the status of their membership (in the tribe)," Carmen said. "It is most appropriately handled in another forum, the Men’s Council," he said.

He said the Nation "did not want the court to get involved in membership matters. It cannot choose the Nation’s government."

Barbara J. Olshansky, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said the case is not about membership in the Oneida Nation, but about the Nation’s leadership’s actions involving the plaintiffs’ civil rights.

"They were retaliated against for speaking against Mr. Halbritter’s government," she said. The dissidents were stripped of Nation benefits, denied participation in tribal ceremonies and some were fired from Nation jobs, she said.

The violations have "piled up over time," she said, and
now some of the plaintiffs say that the Men’s Council and Halbritter are forcing them to move from traditional tribal land under the guise of enforcing a new building code.

"That’s the last piece in an effort to disenfranchise a significant part of the Oneida Indian Nation’s adult population," Olshansky said.


Carmen said the plaintiffs have been invited to present their case to the Men’s Council. He said 17 others have had their tribal rights restored after appearing before the Council.

Men’s Council member Dale Rood said, "It shows that there is a process, and they choose not to participate in the process."

The 17 "had to sign an oath of allegiance to Mr. Halbritter to get their voices restored," Olshansky said, a charge vehemently denied by Carmen.

The Nation’s attorney added that none of the plaintiffs has been ordered to leave their homes on the traditional tribal territory on Route 46.

Plaintiff Danielle Patterson lives there. She said the only reason she has not been evicted is because she joined the lawsuit.

"My children have been traumatized," she said. "We have every right to live there in peace."

Marilyn John, a leader of the Nation government in her position as Wolf Clan Mother, said while there is a legal question about the jurisdiction of the Oneida Nation Court, "the judge should rule."

She said she would rather see "our people bring an action to our court than to a federal court."

Hancock said he would study the arguments and make a decision "in due course."