Post by blackcrowheart on Oct 4, 2006 14:23:54 GMT -5
American Indians await trial on lawsuit
By JAMES MacPHERSON Associated Press Writer
www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4220596.html
<http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4220596.html>
MANDAREE, N.D. �" American Indian rancher Keith Mandan says he
could double the size of his black Angus herd if he had the money _ or
if he were white. Mandan, 53, and his wife, Claryca, 52, say they've
struggled financially to keep their ranch in North Dakota's Badlands
since the late 1970s because of a pattern of discrimination by the
federal government. The Mandans are among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit
that accuses the U.S. Department of Agriculture of discriminating
against American Indians in the granting of loans since 1981. During
that time, Claryca Mandan said, the federal government "wiped out a
whole generation of Indian farmers and ranchers because of racism." USDA
officials refused to respond to specific questions from The Associated
Press about the allegations. In a statement, J. Michael Kelly, an
attorney for the USDA, said the case is still ongoing and the agency is
working to provide documentation requested by the Indians' attorneys.
Earlier this month, attorneys for the American Indian ranchers and
farmers filed a motion to bring the case to trial next year _ eight
years after the lawsuit was filed. A hearing on their motion is set for
Thursday. Keith Mandan said if he could get the financing, he'd buy
about 300 more cows and build a calving barn and a machine shed to keep
his cattle and farm implements protected from the harsh North Dakota
winters. Instead, Mandan uses a heavily wooded gulch for calving. His
machinery is exposed to the elements. "My white counterparts across the
road don't have the problems we have," he said. "We just don't receive
the subsidies that non-Indian farmers and ranchers do." The USDA's Farm
Service Agency lends to farmers and ranchers who can't get credit from
commercial lenders. The agency, known as the lender of last resort, is
the largest agricultural lender in North Dakota. Mandan believes the
USDA has denied and delayed loans to American Indians to squeeze them
out of business. "They just want to close you out and take the land and
put it in their inventory," he said. The lawsuit was granted
class-action status in 2001 but the case has floundered in federal court
since. Attorneys estimate the number of Indian farmer and rancher
plaintiffs could be in the tens of thousands. A settlement figure has
not been calculated, but would likely be in the "hundreds of millions,"
said Joe Sellers, the American Indians' lead attorney in Washington,
D.C. The lawsuit mirrors a civil rights case brought by black farmers in
1997 that settled two years later. The federal government has paid out
about $930 million to about 14,000 black farmers so far, said Anurag
Varma, a Washington, D.C., attorney who helped represent the farmers and
is involved in the American Indians' lawsuit. "The underlying bad acts
by the defendants are virtually identical," Varma said. Sellers accuses
the government of delaying resolution of the lawsuit filed by the
American Indian ranchers and farmers. "They have employed every tactical
maneuver I can conceive of to postpone the day of judgment," he said.
But government attorneys said the case has been delayed in part by their
appeal of the class action decision. "We do take exception that we are
dragging our feet," said Charles Miller, a spokesman for the Justice
Department, which is representing USDA. Meanwhile, Sellers said, the
USDA continues to foreclose on Indian property. "They have accelerated
debt collection," Sellers said. "It seems to me it's an effort to drive
the final nail in the coffin." Three Affiliated Tribes Chairman Tex
Hall, who also is a rancher, calls it economic racism. "It's illegal,
racist and discriminatory," Hall said. "Every day this continues, we
lose another native farmer or rancher."
By JAMES MacPHERSON Associated Press Writer
www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4220596.html
<http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4220596.html>
MANDAREE, N.D. �" American Indian rancher Keith Mandan says he
could double the size of his black Angus herd if he had the money _ or
if he were white. Mandan, 53, and his wife, Claryca, 52, say they've
struggled financially to keep their ranch in North Dakota's Badlands
since the late 1970s because of a pattern of discrimination by the
federal government. The Mandans are among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit
that accuses the U.S. Department of Agriculture of discriminating
against American Indians in the granting of loans since 1981. During
that time, Claryca Mandan said, the federal government "wiped out a
whole generation of Indian farmers and ranchers because of racism." USDA
officials refused to respond to specific questions from The Associated
Press about the allegations. In a statement, J. Michael Kelly, an
attorney for the USDA, said the case is still ongoing and the agency is
working to provide documentation requested by the Indians' attorneys.
Earlier this month, attorneys for the American Indian ranchers and
farmers filed a motion to bring the case to trial next year _ eight
years after the lawsuit was filed. A hearing on their motion is set for
Thursday. Keith Mandan said if he could get the financing, he'd buy
about 300 more cows and build a calving barn and a machine shed to keep
his cattle and farm implements protected from the harsh North Dakota
winters. Instead, Mandan uses a heavily wooded gulch for calving. His
machinery is exposed to the elements. "My white counterparts across the
road don't have the problems we have," he said. "We just don't receive
the subsidies that non-Indian farmers and ranchers do." The USDA's Farm
Service Agency lends to farmers and ranchers who can't get credit from
commercial lenders. The agency, known as the lender of last resort, is
the largest agricultural lender in North Dakota. Mandan believes the
USDA has denied and delayed loans to American Indians to squeeze them
out of business. "They just want to close you out and take the land and
put it in their inventory," he said. The lawsuit was granted
class-action status in 2001 but the case has floundered in federal court
since. Attorneys estimate the number of Indian farmer and rancher
plaintiffs could be in the tens of thousands. A settlement figure has
not been calculated, but would likely be in the "hundreds of millions,"
said Joe Sellers, the American Indians' lead attorney in Washington,
D.C. The lawsuit mirrors a civil rights case brought by black farmers in
1997 that settled two years later. The federal government has paid out
about $930 million to about 14,000 black farmers so far, said Anurag
Varma, a Washington, D.C., attorney who helped represent the farmers and
is involved in the American Indians' lawsuit. "The underlying bad acts
by the defendants are virtually identical," Varma said. Sellers accuses
the government of delaying resolution of the lawsuit filed by the
American Indian ranchers and farmers. "They have employed every tactical
maneuver I can conceive of to postpone the day of judgment," he said.
But government attorneys said the case has been delayed in part by their
appeal of the class action decision. "We do take exception that we are
dragging our feet," said Charles Miller, a spokesman for the Justice
Department, which is representing USDA. Meanwhile, Sellers said, the
USDA continues to foreclose on Indian property. "They have accelerated
debt collection," Sellers said. "It seems to me it's an effort to drive
the final nail in the coffin." Three Affiliated Tribes Chairman Tex
Hall, who also is a rancher, calls it economic racism. "It's illegal,
racist and discriminatory," Hall said. "Every day this continues, we
lose another native farmer or rancher."