Sub-series consists of affidavits by Métis children in support of their claim to participate in the special 1,400,000-acre land grant identified under section 31, 33 Victoria, chapter 3 (the Manitoba Act) and by Métis heads of family under 37 Victoria, chapter 20. The series also includes affidavits to the The series also includes 40 affidavits of the 1885 certificates awarded to Métis children under Manitoba's Supplementary Claim Commission, P.C. 810, 20 April 1885. The affidavits of early white immigrants under the Manitoba Act (33 Vic., c. 3), including Manitoba's additional claims, are also interspersed in this series.
There are three different types of affidavits: Form A, which was used by Métis children over the age of 18; Form B, which was used by Métis children under the age of 18; and Form C, which was used by Métis heads of family. In each case, the affidavits give the name of the claimant, date of birth, parents' names, parish affiliation, affidavit number, and claim number. The records are filed alphabetically. If researchers can not find a particular application in this series, they should then investigate the "HB" central registry series which was created by the Department as a special repository for records pertaining to the Métis scrip commissions of 1885 and 1886. It is always possible that the application was withdrawn by Departmental administrators and placed in a separate case file under the "HB" registry (MIKAN record number 134033). If it is not here, they should probably investigate the central registry of the Dominion Lands Branch (MIKAN record number 156349).
Also included in this sub-series (vol. 3171) is a second (and much smaller) group of affidavits filed by Métis residents of Manitoba in support of their claim to the 1,400,000 acres set aside for Métis children under the Manitoba Act (33 Vic., c. 3, 1870). These affidavits were withdrawn from the main collection of affidavits (see above), by departmental administrators, and for some unknown reason were never integrated back into the collection. Although the affidavits were sworn before Commissioners Ryan and Machar between 1875 and 1877, the land grants in most cases were not awarded until the late 1890s. The affidavits are filed alphabetically according to the name of the claimant.