Metis Scrip
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In practise, the issuing of scrip was full of problems. The two
Commissioners were from outside Manitoba and were unfamiliar with
seasonal work such as fishing and freighting that removed the men from
the community. Not everyone who was entitled was counted. In some cases,
because of family structures and naming practises, cousins with similar
names were confused. It took years for such confusions to be sorted out.
In other cases, the scrip was properly signed for but never arrived. In
some cases the scrip was diverted to a law firm. Investigations are
still on-going into charges of fraud by the government. Link to
U of A Native Studies site.
Applying for Scrip involved going before the commissioners and
filling out a form in English, (a difficulty in a community where many
were French first language, and even more were not literate) swearing as
to one’s parentage, place of birth and place of residence, and then
having two other individuals sign as to one’s identity. If everything
went well, one would eventually receive a Scrip Certificate, which was
good for receipt of 160 acres of land. At first, the land had to be
chosen from a designated area, but this was soon extended to allow for
the choice of any government land that was not otherwise allocated. Also, in the beginning, these
were issued with only a land value. Later, they were printed with either
a land value or a monetary value.
Evidence has been found of a large amount of bad deals and
mishandling of the process. Sometimes, the person offering to assist in
filling out the forms was actually planning to steal them. In some
cases, land agents and other commercial "gentlemen" accompanied the
Commissioners from community to community, offering to buy the Scrip.
Examples have also been found of misrepresentation, where the wrong
individual showed up to claim the scrip.
Some individuals and some families had less problems with the scrip
process. These were generally the more literate and English-speaking
members of the society, but even they could run afoul of the process.
One example of how even the established Métis lost to the system was in
the application of Section 32, to confirm title of occupied lands.
"Even established river lots had not been secure: out of ninety-three
Métis claims, eighty-four were rejected out of hand because of
insufficient cultivation. Five claimants who had houses considered to be
adequate and who had cultivated at least five acres received forty-acre
(sixteen-hectare) grants; four who had cultivated ten acres received
eighty acres (thirty-two hectares)."1
For an outline of the various types and dollar values of scrip, see
the Métis Resource Centre description by Nellie Larocque.
http://www.metisresourcecentre.mb.ca/history/mscrip.htm
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