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As part of Mainstreet Radio series "Broken Trust: Civil Rights in Indian Country,” MPR’s Mark Steil reports on funding and discrimination battles Native American farmers face with the U.S. government.

Federal funds are one of the major sources of wealth in the agricultural economy, accounting for nearly half of farmers' income last year. When farmers can't get access to that money, it can put them out of business. That's what a group of American Indian farmers say happened to them, and they're suing for damages. They allege they were denied federal help because of discrimination. Many say it's just the latest in a long history of abuse by the federal government.

Today, many American Indians live in two worlds. Off the reservation they are guaranteed all the rights of a U.S. citizen. On the reservation, those federal rights disappear, replaced by the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968, enforced by tribal governments. Many Indian people in Minnesota and the Dakotas say they've come to expect injustice both on and off the reservation.

This is part five of eight-part series "Broken Trust: Civil Rights in Indian Country."

Click links below for other parts of series:

part 1: https://archive.mpr.org/stories/2001/04/23/broken-trust-civil-rights-in-indian-country-forgotten-justice

part 2: https://archive.mpr.org/stories/2001/04/24/broken-trust-civil-rights-in-indian-country-south-dakota-a-state-of-despair

part 3: https://archive.mpr.org/stories/2001/04/24/broken-trust-civil-rights-in-indian-country-how-indian-are-you

part 4: https://archive.mpr.org/stories/2001/04/25/broken-trust-civil-rights-in-indian-country-tribal-justice-but-not-for-all

part 6: https://archive.mpr.org/stories/2001/04/26/broken-trust-civil-rights-in-indian-country-spiritual-freedom-behind-bars

part 7: https://archive.mpr.org/stories/2001/04/26/broken-trust-civil-rights-in-indian-country-no-promise-of-education

part 8: https://archive.mpr.org/stories/2001/04/27/broken-trust-civil-rights-in-indian-country-speech-on-the-reservation-isnt-free

Awarded:

2001 NBNA Eric Sevareid Award, first place in Radio - Large Market - Continuing Coverage category

2001 Minnesota AP Award, Best in Show - Radio Class III category

2001 PRNDI Award, second place in Division A - Series category

2002 RTNDA Murrow Award, Radio - Large Market, Region 4 / News Series category

Funders

Digitization made possible by the State of Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, approved by voters in 2008.

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