Métis Scrip Records

Commissions

North-West Half-Breed Commissions

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Applications

Dept. of the Interior, RG 15, Series D II 8b, Applications, 1885, 1.8 m, vols. 1325 to 1332; microfilm reels C-14936 to C-14942.

Applications for scrip filed before the 1885 North-West Commission by Métis living in the North-West Territories previous to 15 July, 1870. These records provide the name of the applicant, date and place of birth, the names of his/her parents and their origins, name(s) of spouse and children, and the amount and type of scrip awarded. The applications are filed alphabetically by name of applicant. An alphabetical index to the records is available in finding aid FA15-20. This index is also available on microfilm reel C-14942, and in digital form in Archives Search.

If researchers can not find a particular application in this series, they should probably also consult series RG 15, D II 8c (described elsewhere), which includes applications received by the department in the years following the original formation of the North-West Commission. It is always possible that a claimant applied to the North-West Commission but in the years following its initial formation. The armed conflict at Batoche prevented many Métis families from appearing before the 1885 Commission. If the application is not found in this last series, researchers should then investigate two of the central registries of the Dominion Lands Branch, either RG 15, series D II 1 or series D II 3 (both of which are described elsewhere). It is always possible that the application was withdrawn by departmental administrators and placed in a case file.

To obtain a listing of all the claimants who applied for scrip under Order-in-Council P.C. 688, 30 March, 1885, researchers should refer to the claims registers compiled by Wm. Street, either RG 15 volumes 1501 to 1503, which are organized by claim number, or RG 15 volumes 1475 or 1533 which are alphabetical listings (all these registers are described in greater detail elsewhere). Other alphabetical indexes can also be found in RG 15, volumes 1509 and 1534. If a case file was created by the Departmental administrators for a particular claim, the case file number will be noted in registers retained as RG 15, volume 1475, volume 1534, or volume 1509.

Dept. of the Interior, RG 15, Series D II 8c, Applications, 1886-1906, 8.85 m, vols. 1333 to 1371; microfilm reels C-14943 to C-15010.

Applications for scrip filed from 1886 to 1906 by Métis families living in the North-West Territories. These applications were received by the North-West Commissions, the Alberta-Saskatchewan Commission, the Treaty 8, 10, and 5 Commissions, including all their adhesions. The applicants in this series which relate to the North-West Commission were filed the year following the original formation of the Commission under Order-in-Council P.C. 309, 1 March, 1886 and subsequent amendments.

Each application gives the name of the applicant, residence, place and date of birth, name of parents and origins, martial status, etc. The applications are filed alphabetically by name of the applicant. An alphabetical index to the records is available in finding aid FA15-21, which is also available on microfilm reel C-14943, and in digital form in Archives Search.

If researchers can not find a particular application in this series, they should probably also consult RG 15 series D II 8b, described elsewhere, to ensure that the applicant did not apply to the North-West Commission the previous year under Order-in-Council, P.C. 688, 30 March, 1885.

If researchers still can not find a particular application in either RG 15, series D II 8b or D II 8c, they should probably then investigate the various central registries of the Dominion Lands Branch, either RG 15, series D II 1 or series D II 3 (both of which are described elsewhere). It is always possible that the application was withdrawn by departmental administrators and set up as a separate case file. This procedure appears to have been a common practice whenever an application required special consideration by the department. By creating a separate case file on a particular scrip application, the department could keep all its correspondence concerning the application together in a single location.

To obtain a listing of all the applicants who received scrip from one of the North-West Half-Breed Supplementary Commissions, researchers should consult the registers retained as RG 15, volumes 1497 to 1500, and/or RG 15, volume 1525 (all of which are described elsewhere). If the department created a case file for a particular claim, then the case file number should be noted in any one of these registers. RG 15 volume 1525 is a register of all applications accepted by the department which were filed by Dominion Lands Agents, under P.C. 1394, 14 June, 1889, rather than by scrip commissioners. RG 15, volume 1508 is a register of all the claims accepted by the Manitoba Supplementary Commission, the North-West Half-Breed Supplementary Commission, and by the Dominion Lands Agents. In the case of the latter, it would appear that the Department usually placed the application in a case file rather than in the general applications series.