Métis Scrip Records

Commissions

North-West Half-Breed Commissions

Subject Files

Dept. of the Interior, RG 15, Series D II 1, Dominion Lands Branch, Correspondence, Headquarters, 1871-1946, 213.6 m, vols. 227 to 1176; Microfilm reels T-12176 to T-15542.

A numerically arranged series of subject files created by the Dominion Lands Branch. The series touches on all aspects of land management and natural resource administration by the Department of the Interior, including Métis land claims. The records included in this series contain general correspondence and departmental memoranda relating to rulings, policy, and procedures, which governed the operations of the North-West Half-Breed Commissions. It also contains some case files relating to the awards given to individual Métis families. The files are numbered sequentially from 1 to 5,644,152 and are listed, in numerical, order in finding aid FA15-5. Under each file number, the finding aid gives the volume number, file title, date range, and subject headings. A copy of the electronic finding aid is available elsewhere in Archives Search.

Dept. of the Interior, RG 15, Series D II 3, Half-Breed Files, 1885-1887, 12.75 m, vols. 170 to 226; microfilm reels T-11354 to T-11358, T-12021 to T-12036, and T12153 to T-12154.

A numerically arrangednseries of subject files created by the Dominion Lands Branch which deal with Métis claims arising out of the Manitoba Commission (including the Manitoba Supplementary Commission) and the 1885 North-West Half-Breed Commission. A number of these files still retain file jackets with a red imprint which reads "Commissioner's Office, Winnipeg", and feature a five-digit file number (for example, file HB 5347 has "57719" stamped in the spaced for the file number). The series probably originated in Winnipeg and at one time had its own classification system. When the files were transferred to the Dominion Lands Office in Ottawa, new file jackets, printed in blue and labelled "Dominion Lands Branch", were attached to some of the files, and all were given new file numbers with an "HB" prefix. In some cases, the older red jackets were not replaced, and the "HB" number was simply printed to the side of the original five-digit number.

A number of the HB files were withdrawn from this series, transferred to the Dominion Lands Branch central registry, and re-numbered. In particular, it would appear that files pertaining to departmental policy, procedures, and correspondence with the Scrip Commissioners were culled from the "HB" series, leaving mostly individual Métis case files which contain correspondence between the claimants and the Department of Interior, applications for scrip, powers of attorney and scrip certificates. Also included in the series are some policy and procedure files, and some reports by various agents of the Department. The files are arranged numerically from HB 7 to HB 9579. Finding aid FA15-17 is a listing of the files found in the series, giving the file title, interested parties, scrip numbers, and the file's date range, volume number and microfilm reel number. A copy of this finding aid is available elsewhere in Archives Search.