“we must… avoid the perpetuation of this”

Like many historic Métis communities in what is now Ontario, much of the Abitibi Inland Métis Community, including those living at Moose Factory, had Métis family members living further westward who had received Métis scrip as part of the Canadian government’s campaign to extinguish Métis land rights and make way for Canadian settlement. 

Due to Canada’s arbitrary policy decision that limited scrip issuance to certain western regions, Métis living in “Keewatin”—the name given to Rupert’s Land after 1870—or further westward were eligible to receive “Half-Breed” scrip, while those living in parts of what is now Ontario, including Moose Factory, were not. 

In 1902, as Canada prepared to negotiate Treaty 9 in the James Bay region, this discriminatory technicality was directly acknowledged by government officials, including Indian Commissioner J.A. McKenna:

“I note that the communication from the Indians describes the [Treaty No.9] territory as being in Ontario and Keewatin… I mention this because in extinguishing the aboriginal title in the territory covered by Treaty Three there has been an apparent inconsistency. The territory is partly in Ontario and partly in Keewatin and a portion extends into Manitoba. The Halfbreed Claims Commissions of 1885 [illegible] and the Department of the Interior recognized the Halfbreeds of the ceded portion of Keewatin as North West Halfbreeds. There was therefore no course open for me but to do likewise.”

McKenna also understood and described the implications of the government’s arbitrary policy implementation approach, writing:

“The consequence is that Halfbreeds living on the Keewatin side of the English River are recognized as having territorial rights and get scrip, scrip which they may locate in Manitoba or any part of the North West Territories, while the Halfbreeds on the Ontario side who naturally comes and makes claim has to be told that he has no territorial rights.”

McKenna recognized that, like Métis on the Prairies, Métis in Ontario—particularly those in Moose Factory and the James Bay region—should have their territorial rights addressed through Métis scrip, ultimately concluding in his recommendations that, “We must take care to avoid the perpetuation of this” arbitrary and discriminatory policy.

Despite McKenna’s recommendations and continued collective advocacy by the Métis in Moose Factory—including the 1905 Moose Factory Métis Petition—Canada continued its arbitrary policy of excluding the Métis community from having their rights addressed through Métis scrip or other just and lasting means.

See Our Sources

• “Report from J. A. McKenna Regarding Half-Breed Claims,” LAC RG 10, Vol. 3033, File 235,225 Pt. 1, C-11314.

• 1905 Moose Factory Métis Petition

• Abitibi Inland Métis Community’s Submissions to the MNC Expert Panel

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