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Native American farmers, ranchers demand fair settlementNative American farmers and ranchers who are suing the USDA for discrimination in the agency's farm loan program responded to the Obama administration's Feb. 18 announcement that it will settle the untimely civil rights claims of black farmers for $1.25 billion--in addition to $1 billion previously paid to black farmers who filed timely claims in the 1999 Pigford settlement. The case of Keepseagle v. Vilsack was filed in 1999 by Native American farmers and ranchers on Thanksgiving Day and has been certified as a class-action lawsuit. On November 5, 2009, at a White House summit of tribal leaders, Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack stated that the administration was committed to resolving the Keepseagle litigation. In response to the announcement that the administration will settle the black farmers' remaining claims for $1.25 billion, the class representatives of the Keepseagle plaintiffs issued the following statement. Porter Holder, a class representative and rancher from Soper, Okla., and Claryca Mandan, a class representative and rancher from Mandaree, N.D. said: "We applaud the president's decision to compensate black farmers and ranchers for the decades of wrongful discrimination committed by the USDA and his goal of putting that shameful era behind us. As our nation's first farmers and ranchers, Native Americans have also suffered from the USDA's history of discrimination, and we too should be made whole. Although we cannot discuss the ongoing settlement negotiations between Native American farmers and ranchers and the USDA, we have every confidence that this administration will compensate Native American farmers and ranchers for the substantial harm they suffered at levels no less than what is being provided to the African Americans. The Keepseagle plaintiffs look forward to working with the president and his administration to achieve that goal as soon as possible."
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