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Alberta Online Encyclopedia

Metis Scrip

Metis Scrip. The Government of Canada recognized that the Metis also had a claim to the lands of the Northwest and offered scrip instead of a treaty to anyone who claimed a mixed European and Aboriginal background. Scrip changed over time, but it was essentially a promise of land or money to purchase land - if the person taking scrip wished to use the money for this purpose. For this reason most treaty parties also included a Scrip Commission charged with issuing certificates, such as this one from 1894, to people who preferred this option.

The Government of Canada recognized that the Métis also had a claim to the lands of the Northwest and offered scrip instead of a treaty to anyone who claimed a mixed European and Aboriginal background. Scrip changed over time, but it was essentially a promise of land or money to purchase land - if the person taking scrip wished to use the money for this purpose. For this reason most treaty parties also included a Scrip Commission charged with issuing certificates, such as this one from 1894, to people who preferred this option.

Photo courtesy of the Glenbow Archives.

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