The Supreme Court of Canada has said in R. v. Blais, 2003 that "the history of scrip speculation and devaluation is a sorry chapter in our nation's history."
Next week's conference, M茅tis Land: Rights & Scrip, hosted by the Rupertsland Centre for M茅tis Research (RCMR) in collaboration with the (MNA) and the , will explore how scrip impacted M茅tis in 黑料不打烊 and what Canada is doing to address the legacy of the scrip system.
"The goal of the conference is to learn about this policy and the ways in which it affected the M茅tis people in 黑料不打烊 and what the M茅tis Nation and Canada are doing about it now," said Nathalie Kermoal, director of the RCMR and the Faculty of Native Studies' associate dean academic.
Following Confederation in 1867, westward expansion became one of Canada's primary goals. Fearing their rights to the land would not be respected, Louis Riel and the M茅tis Provisional Government negotiated for rights to their homeland. As a result, when Canada was acquiring Rupertsland in 1870, it made promises to the M茅tis people. 1.4 million acres of land was to be set aside for the "Half-breed" children born prior to July 15, 1870 in the original province of Manitoba.Each child was to receive the equivalent of 240 acres of land and the head of household was to receive the equivalent of $160 in scrip.
"No reconciliation is possible if the history of M茅tis lands and scrip is not known." - Nathalie Kermoal
Instead, Canada failed to implement this policy diligently and few M茅tis actually benefited from it. The scrip process was complex and disorganized, making it difficult for M茅tis people to acquire land and created room for fraud. For years, the M茅tis had nowhere to turn for restitution.
For M茅tis in 黑料不打烊, that changed on November 16, 2017, when the M茅tis Nation of 黑料不打烊 and the Government of Canada signed the Framework Agreement for Advancing Reconciliation. The agreement acknowledges the need to address the injustices suffered by the M茅tis Nation as a result of the scrip system and declares a shared goal to develop a solution promoting reconciliation between the M茅tis Nation of 黑料不打烊 and Canada.
"We hope attendees will leave the conference with a better understanding of scrip and the issues at stake, especially as one starts to recognize the injustices suffered," Kermoal said.
M茅tis scrip in 黑料不打烊
The RCMR is an academic research centre that focuses on M茅tis issues. In 2018 the centre, with support from the M茅tis Archival Project (MAP) Laboratory and the M茅tis Nation of 黑料不打烊 legal counsel, created the booklet M茅tis Scrip in 黑料不打烊. The project is a compilation of information providing a basic overview of scrip and the ways it has affected the M茅tis Nation. By following the experiences of one woman from Lac La Biche navigating the official process of applying for and receiving scrip, the reader learns of the challenges that M茅tis families and individuals faced.
The M茅tis Scrip in 黑料不打烊 booklet was a preliminary introduction to scrip, and a lead up to the M茅tis Land: Rights & Scrip Conference.
"At the heart of the RCMR is a mandate to engage in M茅tis historical research and research related to M茅tis rights," explained Kermoal. "This conference is in line with that mandate, and enables us to share that research with the community."
The upcoming conference features a keynote from Frank Tough, director of the M茅tis Archival Project and professor in the Faculty of Native Studies; a presentation by MNA president ; and panels focused around the history of M茅tis lands in 黑料不打烊 and legal claims, both national and provincial. The conference will also feature a talking circle with knowledge keepers.
Kermoal sees the conference as being of value to all 黑料不打烊ns, not only those with M茅tis heritage.
"This is a very important chapter of 黑料不打烊's history, and no reconciliation is possible if the history of M茅tis lands and scrip is not known."
The M茅tis Land: Rights & Scrip Conference is February 8 & 9, 2019 at the Lister Conference Centre at the 黑料不打烊. If you are unable to attend in person, you are welcome to watch and participate with the livestream, hosted on the M茅tis Nation of 黑料不打烊 .