Paula Hemlock calls for the removal of Sid Hill as Tadodaho, the most senior Chief of the Haudenosaunee

By Indian Affairs Correspondent

October 23, 2025 — In a bold and vocal challenge to the leadership of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy—also known as the Iroquois Confederacy—a prominent Onondaga activist has demanded the immediate removal of Tadodaho Sid Hill, the spiritual and political head of the six-nation alliance.

Paula Hemlock, a Snipe Clan member of the Onondaga Nation, has long criticized Hill’s tenure, accusing him of incompetence, financial mismanagement, and compromising the sovereignty of the Haudenosaunee people through alleged ties to the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

Hemlock’s latest salvo comes amid reports of a deepening financial crisis within the Onondaga Nation‘s governing council, which Hill chairs as Tadodaho. In a June 2025 social media post, she highlighted how the council’s “financial bankruptcy crisis” has jeopardized operations at the Tsha’Hon’nonyen’dakhwa’ Arena, threatening the upcoming 2025-2026 hockey season and other community programs.

“The former BIA agent Sid Hill has lost all credibility to decide how he and his cronies are going to fix the bankruptcy that was created without the informed consent of the People,” Hemlock wrote on Facebook, echoing a pattern of grievances she has aired publicly for years.

The Role of Tadodaho in Haudenosaunee Governance

The Tadodaho holds a pivotal position in the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, serving as the “Firekeeper” who chairs the Grand Council and ensures consensus among the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora nations.

Selected in 2002 to “warm the seat” of this lifetime title, Hill has been a visible figure in international advocacy, including efforts to reclaim ancestral lands through legal challenges to the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua. Under his leadership, the Onondaga Nation has pursued cases before U.S. courts and even an international panel, arguing for the restoration of 2.5 million acres of territory.

Yet, Hill’s dual role as a former BIA representative—appointed in 2012—has drawn sharp rebuke from critics like Hemlock. She argues that his involvement with the federal agency undermines the Confederacy’s pre-colonial sovereignty, likening it to “straddling the canoe and the ship.”

In older posts dating back to 2020, Hemlock called for a “recall of the antlers,” a traditional Haudenosaunee process to remove a chief for cause, accusing Hill of prioritizing BIA interests over community needs.

Allegations of Corruption and Betrayal

Hemlock’s campaign against Hill extends beyond finances. She has lambasted him and fellow leader Oren Lyons for their perceived alignment with controversial international positions, including sending the Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team to Israel in defiance of boycott calls from Palestinian advocates and segments of the Haudenosaunee community.

In a February 2025 X (formerly Twitter) post, Hemlock wrote, “UNDRIP mandates r perfect but r leaders r vile traitors. Haudenosaunee delegation is represented by Tadodaho Sid Hill n Orens Lyons who stood w/Israel.”

Her activism, under the banner #OnondagaWombCarriersRisingUp, positions her as a voice for women and traditionalists within the Onondaga Nation, who she claims are sidelined by an “oppressive” council.

Posts from 2020 to 2025 paint a picture of systemic failures: silence on land defender arrests, complicity in revenue-sharing deals with colonial governments, and a broader “philosophical, economic, moral n political bankruptcy.”

As of this writing, neither Hill nor the Onondaga Council has issued a public response to Hemlock’s recent demands. The Confederacy’s emphasis on consensus governance often keeps internal disputes private, but such public airing could signal escalating tensions.

Broader Implications for Indigenous Self-Determination

Hemlock’s call resonates amid a global resurgence of Indigenous activism, from #LandBack movements to challenges against colonial legacies. The Haudenosaunee, whose Great Law of Peace influenced the U.S. Constitution, have long resisted federal oversight. Hill’s BIA history, while defended by supporters as pragmatic diplomacy, underscores a perennial debate: how to navigate modern institutions without eroding traditional authority.

For Hemlock, the stakes are personal and collective.

“Giving their oath to serve the People is meaningless!” she declared in one post, urging a return to Kaianere’kó:wa—the Great Law—that places community welfare above all. As the Onondaga Nation grapples with fiscal woes and external pressures, her voice amplifies calls for accountability, reminding the world that sovereignty is not just a legal claim but a living responsibility.

Whether this leads to a formal recall remains uncertain, but Hemlock’s persistence highlights the dynamic, sometimes fractious, heart of Haudenosaunee democracy. In the words of the Confederacy’s founding principles, true leadership must reflect the voices of the people—or risk the fire going out.

Alleged Abandonment of Duties: The Florida Relocation

One of Hemlock’s most pointed accusations centers on Hill’s physical and symbolic detachment from Haudenosaunee territory. In 2008, reports emerged that Hill had spent significant time in South Florida, engaging in personal activities like gardening and tree-planting, far from the Onondaga Nation’s central fire in Nedrow, New York.

Critics, including Hemlock, have framed this as an abandonment of his sacred responsibilities as Tadodaho, arguing that the role demands constant presence to tend the Confederacy’s flame and mediate among nations.

“The Firekeeper can’t keep the fire lit from a beach in Florida,” Hemlock posted on X in 2020, tying the relocation to broader neglect of community needs during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.

While Hill’s supporters point to his continued involvement in land rights litigation and international diplomacy as evidence of commitment, Hemlock insists the move exemplifies a leader out of touch with reservation realities, from poverty to environmental threats at Onondaga Lake.

Recent 2025 coverage of Hill’s advocacy still references his Florida ties, fueling speculation that such absences persist, eroding trust in his stewardship.

The Betty Hill Scandal: The “First Lady” Claim

Adding a layer of personal controversy to Hemlock’s critique is Hill’s marriage to Betty Hill, a longtime employee of the Onondaga Nation who serves on the Haudenosaunee External Relations Committee. Betty, who has worked for the nation for over two decades, has been accused by Hemlock of leveraging her relationship with Sid to gain undue influence, including adopting the self-proclaimed title of “First Lady of the Confederacy“—a role with no basis in traditional governance.

Hemlock has decried this as a blatant conflict of interest, alleging the relationship began while Betty was an employee under Hill’s oversight, violating protocols against nepotism in council affairs. In a series of 2021 X posts, Hemlock labeled it a “scandal of power and privilege,” claiming it sidelines women’s traditional roles as clan mothers while elevating an unelected consort.

“Betty’s ‘First Lady’ crown is as fake as the sovereignty Sid sells to the BIA,” she wrote, linking it to broader patterns of opaque decision-making.

Defenders, including Betty herself, have dismissed the claims as misogynistic attacks, emphasizing her independent contributions to external relations and land rights efforts. Yet, in the context of Hemlock’s push for recall, the allegations underscore demands for transparency in leadership relationships.

Financial Scandals: From Plantagon to Bankruptcy Blues

At the heart of Hemlock’s financial indictments are high-profile missteps under Hill’s watch, including the 2019 bankruptcy of Plantagon, a vertical farming venture in which the Onondaga Nation held an 80% stake as unconsenting shareholders.

Hemlock has repeatedly accused Hill, alongside Lyons and Swedish entrepreneur Hans Hassle, of investing tribal funds without community approval, resulting in undisclosed losses amid the reservation’s entrenched poverty.

“Fleeced by their own leaders—despicable,” she posted on X in November 2019, demanding accountability for the “ghost money” vanished in the Swedish courts.

These concerns escalated in 2025 when Hill publicly announced the Onondaga Nation’s fiscal insolvency, citing a “bankruptcy crisis” that halted arena operations and community services. Hemlock tied this to earlier deals, like the 2022 Honeywell settlement returning 1,000 acres but without sovereignty guarantees or full consent, arguing Hill’s secretive negotiations prioritized legal wins over fiscal prudence.

As of June 2025, over 70 days after the announcement, no recovery plan had materialized, amplifying calls for his ouster.

Blasphemy in the Firekeeper’s Seat: The BIA Affiliation

For traditionalists like Hemlock, Hill’s 2012 appointment as BIA representative constitutes nothing short of blasphemy—a profane fusion of sacred duty and colonial apparatus. The Tadodaho is meant to embody Kaianere’kó:wa’s purity, free from entanglements with entities like the BIA, which Hemlock views as a tool of assimilation and sovereignty erosion.

“Straddling the canoe and the ship—traitorous grounds for recalling his antlers,” she declared in a 2020 X thread, invoking the Great Law’s metaphors for divided loyalties.

This dual role, Hemlock argues, taints the Confederacy’s flame, as Hill’s BIA tenure allegedly influenced decisions like the Honeywell deal and silence on Wet’suwet’en solidarity in 2020.

Broader critiques echo this, with scholars noting how such affiliations challenge Haudenosaunee claims to pre-colonial independence at forums like the League of Nations. Hill maintains the position aids pragmatic advocacy, but for Hemlock, it’s a desecration demanding ceremonial removal.

Thwarting Kin: The Tuscarora Nation of North Carolina

Hemlock’s grievances extend to inter-nation dynamics, accusing Hill of undermining the Tuscarora Nation of North Carolina‘s decades-long bid for state recognition. In a recent Facebook post, she highlighted a document purportedly signed by Hill on behalf of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, opposing the Tuscarora’s claims despite their historical ties as the Confederacy’s sixth nation since 1722.

“Hypocrisy from the ‘Firekeeper’ who signed away our kin’s sovereignty,” Hemlock wrote, linking it to Hill’s BIA biases favoring federal over state recognitions.

The Tuscarora, displaced from their Carolina homelands during colonial wars, have faced repeated denials from North Carolina’s Commission of Indian Affairs, with 2024 bills stalling amid debates over authenticity.

Hemlock alleges Hill’s intervention—framed as protecting Confederacy protocols—exacerbates divisions, betraying the Great Law’s emphasis on unity. As the Tuscarora renew their push, this controversy tests Hill’s role as unifier, with Hemlock vowing to rally clan mothers against such “internal colonialism.”