Babaamaajimowinan (Telling of news in different places)
Babaamaajimowinan (Telling of news in different places)
A $760 million Settlement with the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) has been reached in the Keepseagle v. Vilsack class action lawsuit. The lawsuit claimed the USDA discriminated against Native Americans by denying them equal access to credit in the USDA Farm Loan Program.
The lawsuit claims that the USDA denied thousands of Native American farmers and ranchers the same opportunities to get farm loans or loan servicing that were given to white farmers and ranchers. Plaintiffs also claim that the USDA did not do outreach to Native American farmers and ranchers or provide them with the technical assistance they needed to prepare applications for loans and loan servicing.
The Class includes all Native American farmers and ranchers who:
Farmed or ranched or attempted to farm or ranch between January 1, 1981 and November 24, 1999; and
Sought, or attempted to seek, a farm loan from the USDA during that period; and
Complained about discrimination to the USDA orally or in writing on their own or through a representative, such as a tribal government, during the same time period.
Excluded are claims of Class Members who either:
Experienced discrimination only between January 1 and November 23, 1997; or
Complained of discrimination only between July 1 and November 23, 1997.
You may be eligible for a payment of up to $50,000 or more and forgiveness of some or all outstanding USDA loans if you qualify as a class member.
The Court in charge of this case has approved the Settlement. Once the time has passed for any appeals, the claims process will begin. Please be patient. A schedule of meetings that will be held to assist class members with submitting Track A claims will be posted shortly. At this time, you may view the full Notice of the proposed Settlement. A copy is available for you to download by clicking here.
This website will be updated as more information becomes available. Please check back periodically for important updates regarding the Settlement.
Reader Comments(0)