Scrip

A road allowance is land that had been surveyed and set apart by the government for future roads and development - it was the margin between provincial land and Crown land. The state simultaneously denied Métis land rights and also would not allow them to purchase land. The decision to permit Métis families to move onto road allowances was one that further perpetuated their economic marginalization. Some Métis found and occupied abandoned shacks and rail cars as housing was not provided on road allowances. After 1885, the Métis were effectively legally ignored by all levels of government until the 1930s, when a surge of Métis political organization engaged in consciousness-raising and mobilization.

Metis were denied their land rights following the Red River Resistance and Riel Resistance.  The land dispossession of many Metis resulted in their establishing residence on unoccupied road allowances on Crown land.  Metis people disposessed of their homelands and unable to reside in road allowance communities were pushed to find shelter on elsewhere.  

Metis communities in northern Saskatchewan (formerly North-west Territories) began appealing to the Crown in approximately 1886-87 to have their land claims recognized. Although the North-west Commission of 1885 would have surveyed a large number of Metis claims in the North-west Territories, there would have been a number of factors which would have prevented Metis who lived farther north from attending, such as distance. It was extremely difficult for families to leave their work for a number of days during the busy summer months. As well, many Metis were illiterate and did not speak English, and would have been unfamiliar with the complicated and unorganized bureaucratic process inherent to the policies of the Metis land claims Commissions. The process of applying for one’s claim was time-consuming as it required not only travelling to the Commission’s sitting, but travelling to the Dominion Land Office as well to mark one’s claim on a map. Sometimes scrip coupons were issued immediately, other times individuals had to wait for months for their claim to process. As well, if the land upon which the individual resided had not yet been surveyed, they could not use the land or money scrip to obtain title to their land. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the government, the purpose of distributing scrip was to extinguish Metis claims to land title, just as treaties did for non-Metis Aboriginal people. A distinct difference between the two, however, is that the Metis claims were dealt with individually, while Aboriginal title to land was collectively extinguished. Similar to the numbered Aboriginal treaties, Commissioners were appointed by orders in council to hold sittings at locations where Metis could come and fill out the requisite government applications. Although scrip had been issued for many decades, perhaps most notably in Manitoba following the Red River resistance in the 1870s, as well as in Saskatchewan in the 1880s and in conjunction with Treaty 8, the existence of prior commissions did not quell the fears of the Metis that their rights to occupation and land title would be recognized by the government. Ottawa’s intent to settle the west was demonstrated by their failure to follow through with their decade-long delay in distributing land in Manitoba following the issuance of land scrip in 1880. The Metis correctly assessed the situation by recognizing that the Crown was more preoccupied with the interests of the Settler population than the rights of the Metis people. In response, the Metis continually petitioned Ottawa regarding their concerns in the 1870s and 1880s, which are clearly documented by government records and correspondence from that time period. These concerns were ignored and resulted in growing political tension and the Riel resistance of 1885. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As well, the decline of the buffalo in the 1880s as a result of enormously wasteful hunting by the Settler population required that the Metis transition to a new way of life. This wasteful consumption is starkly contrasted by the careful stewardship of the buffalo by the Metis, in which judicious hunting was exercised and all parts of the buffalo used. The fur trade was also in decline. Since the sharp dual decline of buffalo and the fur trade 1880s, requests had been made by the Metis for assistance in transitioning to a way of life based on a different economy. Aboriginal peoples of Northern Saskatchewan had also made requests to enter treaty due to destitution and sickness. The government ignored these requests until the time of the gold rush and the invasion of prospectors in Northern Saskatchewan in approximately 1906. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On July 20, 1906, the Commissioner for the first half of Treaty 10 (McKenna) collected a total of 541 testimonies to land claim, of which 498 were allowed by the government. This amounted to $65, 040 in money scrip and 54, 480 acres in land scrip. Under the second Treaty 10 Commissioner (Borthwick), a total of 202 testimonies to land claim were made, of which 178 were allowed. The second half amounted to $14, 160 in money scrip and 28, 560 in land scrip. The scrip commissions were held in conjunction with the Treaty 10 commissions at Snake Plains, Lac la Ronge, Stanley Mission, Southend, Ile-a-la-Crosse, La Loche Mission, La Loche River and Portage la Loche. All successful applicants received either $240 in money scrip or 240 acres in land scrip, regardless of date of birth (this is in contrast to prior scrip commissions which required a particular birth date and where $160 in money scrip or 160 acres of land scrip was given to adults and $240 in money scrip or 240 acres of land scrip given to children). In 1908, a further 17 Metis claims to land title were made during the payment of annuities to Aboriginal residents of Lac la Ronge and Pelican Narrows. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- While the government’s presumed legal authority to assess these claims is questionable, as it is based on the assumption that it supersedes any rights to land claims made by Aboriginal or Metis people, it should also be noted that the claims made during the Treaty 10 era do not represent the totality of Metis people in the region. Some Metis individuals, particularly those in the northern and eastern fringes of the Treaty 10 area which spanned approximately 85,500 square miles, were prohibited by economic circumstances to leave their work during the busy summer months for several days. As well, there were other obstacles to filing claims, such as the language barrier (many Metis spoke Michif or French), the foreign, cumbersome and confusing nature of the Crown’s bureaucratic policies (the Metis would have had little to no experience with written laws, deeds or money), and the length of time that was required for processing (the process of obtaining scrip varied from commission to commission, and the application was frequently approved on-site if the individual qualified. The standard format involved filling out an application and an affidavit or obtaining the testimony of two reliable and disinterested witnesses. Following approval and reception of the land scrip coupon, the claimant needed to go to the Dominion land office and enter the scrip, which initiated the long wait to receive a land patent. This was granted as long as there were no conflicts with other settler claims, reserves, or public projects like railways or schools. The latter part of the process involved formalities, paperwork, and lengthy waits). Collectively, these factors served to discourage Metis people from making claims. Although the government may not have had malicious intent in making the process extremely drawn-out and complex, it served to discriminate against the Metis, not only by insisting that they conform to EuroCanadian government policy regarding recognition of land sovereignty, but because it made the process of obtaining such recognition difficult. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The end result for many Metis was alienation of their land title claims, if not because of the difficulty involved in obtaining them, then because of being preyed upon by land speculators. Land speculators frequently lurked alongside scrip commissions and land offices to purchase land scrip certificates, and speculators also frequently organized to agree upon a pre-set price so that Metis individuals had no bartering leverage to negotiate a better deal. In the struggle to adjust from a buffalo economy to an agrarian economy, many Metis were driven by poverty to sell their land scrip certificates for a fraction of their value. Also, government information about scrip certificates was not readily available and, when it was available, was unclear to applicants. As a result many Metis individuals failed to appreciate its value. There was also notable difficulty in locating the land distributed to them in the claim. Government documents clearly implicate the government in fraudulent dealings, as Commissioners, at least part of the time, worked in conjunction with land speculators to make the transfer of land easier. In government memoranda from 1921, it notes: “It appears that the scrip was handed to the half-breeds by the agent of the Indian Department and it was then purchased, for small sums of course, by speculators. However the half-breed himself was required by the Department of the Interior to appear in person at the office of the land agent and select his land and hand over his scrip. In order to get over this difficulty they speculator would employ the half-breed to impersonate the breed entitled to the scrip. This practice appears to have been very widely indulged in at one time. The practice was winked at evidently at the time and the offences were very numerous.” (Memorandum for Mr. Newcombe, 14 October 1921). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Evidence of land speculation in relationship to Treaty 10 proceedings demonstrates some of the government’s attitudes towards Metis land rights. In a series of telegrams which were sent in July of 1907, the Minister of the Interior, Frank Oliver, became involved in a dispute whereby a scrip buying representative of Revillon Brothers named Bernard was using intimidation tactics to influence other scrip buyers and sellers. Oliver had received a telegram from an agency named Bradshaw, Richards and Affleck which advised him that “Revillon Brothers through representative Bernard in charge transportation Borthwick commission, is buying all scrip and terrorizing other script buyers submit Revillon Brothers. Government contractors should be prohibited, please wire answer.” Oliver replied to the agency that the government had no authority to prohibit individuals from buying scrip, but that he had also wired the acting Indian Agent for Mistiwasis, Thomas Borthwick, to see that Bernard did not use undue influence or terrorize either the “halfbreeds” (Metis) or other scrip buyers. To Borthwick, Oliver said, “See that he uses no undue influence in any degree with respect to any person You will be held responsible.” Oliver also wired Revillon Brothers and instructed them to notify Bernard that a complaint had been made and that he should “act accordingly.”

The Canadian Government amended the Manitoba Act Section 32. This amendment stated that all claimants had to demonstrate “undisturbed occupancy” and “actual peaceable possession.”

The government had been informed by Henry Youle Hind that in the summer, many Metis were trying to make a living by hunting buffalo or freighting supplies for the Hudson’s Bay Company, and were not present to confirm their land occupancy.  These amendments, therefore, were used to alienate Metis and their families from a protected land base. 

The federal government recognized the Aboriginal land rights of the North-West Metis in an amendment to the Dominion Land Act authorizing federal government to satisfy any existing claim with Metis outside of Manitoba on the 15th day of July 1870.

In 1885 certain land rights were extended to Métis peoples outside Manitoba. According to the amended resolutions, every head of family living in the Northwest Territories on 15 July 1870 would receive a homestead grant of 160 acres or a scrip certificate valued at $160. The children of these heads of families would be entitled to 240 acres of land or $240 of scrip. The 1885 Resistance placed many Métis peoples in the Batoche region in jail. This severely hindered the ability of families to survive economically. Economic difficulties were compounded by a weak environment for economic sustenance and development in the late 1880s - the near-extinction of the buffalo and poor agricultural conditions. Many Métis peoples sold their scrip in exchange for food and clothing, leaving a limited land base for Métis communities. This situation led to long term poverty, as many Métis peoples ended up living on road allowances and in other areas outside of Batoche.

Legislation was introduced in the House of Commons outlining that in order to extinguish the Metis title in Manitoba any head of family who was a resident of Manitoba on 15 July 1870 would be provided with 160 acres of land or scrip worth $160 as a payment for Dominion lands. Scrip was a certificate that could be redeemed for land or money by the applicant.

In 1888 the lots in townships 42, 43, 44, and 45 (region along the South Saskatchewan River that was historically Metis land) were resurveyed by the government. Portions of these townships were divided into riverlots. These lots were 8-10 chains wide and 1 mile deep. This new survey reconciled a key grievance of the Metis population, albeit in a small area, as their land use system was recognized by the federal government. After the survey many Métis people were more willing to make formal land entries. It should also be noted that confusion followed the resurveying of some lands, as temporary markers of new lots were erected. Many of these markers were moved or disrupted due to various causes, most notably flooding. As lots were often remarked, at times there were disagreements about who owned what land. By 1908 the original survey lines were corrected and iron posts were erected to divide lots.

Excerpts from "The Forgotten People" in the "relevant resources" section below detail the alienation of Metis people from their land through the Manitoba Act and processes of scrip certificate distribution. In 1886 the Metis of Manitoba petitioned the government, stating that their land patents and scrip had been stolen. Some Metis reported that their scrip had been stolen when land speculators forged powers of attorney (by bringing in someone to impersonate the Metis scrip owner) at the land office. The government officials at the land office were fully aware that this occurred and supported the theft of land by land speculators by forging powers of attorney. This constitutes government fraud.----Some primary sources, such as interviews with Metis women Agnes Amyotte Fisher and Celina Amyotte Poitras, as well as with Metis man Gilbert Rose, confirm that their Metis family received scrip certificates and land. However, other Metis interview participants, such as Pauline Anderson, Billie (Marie) Robison and Norma Welsh, as well as Metis man Joe Terranso, disclose that their families never received land or payment for their scrip certificates. Metis man Joe Vandale reports that his Metis family had to purchase their land (which implies that their land rights were not recognized by the government). Metis man Pierre Vandale reported that the government did no sufficiently inform Metis people of the significance or value of scrip certificates (this is also implied in the interview with Emily Norris Roehl). Metis man Frank Auger testifies that some First Nations people felt confined by treaty regulations, and thus took scrip instead, which they later regretted because the land that had been set aside for them for hunting was, in actuality, too small. Metis historian Harry Daniels reported that in Alberta in 1935, "I have found that the destitute, the most destitute people amongst the Metis today, are the direct descendants of the Indians who left the treaty in favour of scrip. They were misled in thinking that they were being taken out of bondage, they were misled in giving up their treaty.”

After several petitions between 1878 and 1885 the territorial and federal government extended the Aboriginal land rights recognized in the Manitoba Act to Metis living outside of Manitoba. The government passed an order-in-council which authorized three commissioners to issue scrip to Metis heads of family and their children outside Manitoba.

The Manitoba Act was passed at the closing of the Red River Resistance in 1870, which provided for the province of Manitoba and allowed the Red River settlement to enter Confederation as Canada's fifth province. Prime Minister J.A. MacDonald stated that he would compensate the Metis in the new province in order to settle the west peacefully, although the provincial land would be owned publicly. There were also provisions in the Act which protected the French language and Roman Catholic religion. Section 31 of the Act provided land for the children of Metis heads of families, which amounted to 1.4 million acres, to be divided into tracts and allotted to Métis families by Lieutenant-Governor Adam Archibald. Section 32 guaranteed all previous settlers possession of the lots they occupied before 15 July 1870, as well as hay rights in the outer two miles of various river lots. An amendment to section 32 in 1874 provided $160 scrip redeemable by Métis heads of families. The 1874 amendment also stated that improvements needed to be made to the land in order to obtain the title. Following the creation of the Manitoba Act, Prime Minister MacDonald refused to distribute the land legally owed to Metis people. The plan of Lieutenant Governor Archibald was to allow the Metis to maintain the river lot system of farming and distribute the 1.4 million acres over a period of approximately one year. Distribution of land in fulfillment of section 31 took over a decade, however, causing many frustrated Metis people to migrate west into Alberta and Saskatchewan, as well as the United States. As well, government officials changed their minds about the 1.4 million acres, stating that the claimed land was now required to be outside the province of Manitoba. They also changed the date of proof of occupation to a date when most Metis would be away from their farms hunting buffalo. Shortly after the Act was passed, MacDonald sent 1200 troops to Fort Garry (now known as Winnipeg), to surveil and control the new province. The troops, as well as the influx of settlers, terrorized the Metis residents. Many Metis individuals were murdered, beaten, and raped. Metis landholders were frequently harassed in non-physical ways as well.