Inquirer Editorial: Case closed

After years of court battles, Native American farmers are finally in line to get compensation for discrimination by the federal government that cost many their land.

Meanwhile, other farmers are left waiting for justice from Congress to right similar wrongs of bias against them.

A $760 million settlement reached Tuesday by the Obama administration would resolve charges by Native Americans that they were systematically denied government loans or lent less than white farmers. Without loans, many went bankrupt.

If approved as expected by a federal judge, the settlement will close another ugly chapter in the country's civil rights history. It has taken 11 years and three administrations to end the dispute.

Farmers and ranchers who can prove they were the victims of discrimination will receive up to $250,000 in payments from a Justice Department fund. But as Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said, that money "can never undo wrongs that Native Americans may have experienced" as a result of government prejudice.

Now, the government must aggressively publicize the claim process in rural and remote Native American communities to inform farmers about the payments.

Under the agreement, the government would also forgive $80 million of outstanding farm-loan debt. A council also will be established to advise borrowers, and to prevent the discriminatory lending practices from recurring.

Similar allegations of discrimination have been made by black, Hispanic, and women farmers. It's time that they received redress, too, for their losses.