“born and brought up in the country”

In September, 1905, Métis in Moose Factory petitioned the Government of Ontario for “that scrip has been granted to the Halfbreeds of the North West Territory” with whom they shared deep multigenerational family and economic connections.

Echoing language found within other famous Métis petitions—such as the 1850 Sault Ste. Marie Métis Petition, signed by a community “born upon the soil”—the 1905 Moose Factory Métis Petition grounds the Métis community’s land-related rights in their deep place-based connections and way of life, emphasizing that: 

“We have been born and brought up in the country, and are thus by our birth and training unfit to obtain a livelihood in the civilized world.”

The petition, signed by members of several Métis families, including the Moore and McLeod families, also advocates for the common rights and interests of other members of their Métis community who were absent at the time, including those working on Hudson’s Bay Company vessels, highlighting the Moose Factory Métis community’s deep sense of shared responsibility and commitment to caring for one another. 

Due to arbitrary Canadian policies, however, which limited Métis scrip issuance to certain western regions, the Métis in Moose Factory would remain unrecognized and excluded—with their 1905 Moose Factory Petition unanswered—while their Métis family members who had previously moved further westward, including to the Red River region, would ultimately receive their rightful recognition and scrip participation.

See Our Sources

• 1905 Moose Factory Métis Petition

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

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