Collection search - McKay, John McNab Ballendine; address: Prince Albert; born: 5 January, 1831 at Fort Ellice; father: John Richard McKay (Métis); mother: Harriet Ballendine (Métis); married: 1848 at Winnipeg to Mary McCorrister; children living: Sarah, George Bruce, Archibald, Frederick John, Thomas and William Charles; children deceased: Herbert; scrip for $160.00; claim no. 957

Scrip was a certificate issued by the Department of the Interior which indicated the right of the holder to receive payment later in the form of money or land. The federal government distributed scrip to the Métis in exchange for their land rights, as a method of extinguishing their Aboriginal title to the land. The federal government also used scrip to distribute land to white settlers, including Original White Settlers, soldiers, and police who fought in the North West Resistance of 1885 (or North West Rebellion of 1885).