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The Métis in Western Canada: O-Tee-Paym-Soo-Wuk

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The BeginningsThe People and Their CommunitiesCulture and Lifeways
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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