The Métis Population Betterment Act was a 1938 act of the Alberta Legislature in Canada that created a committee of members of the Métis and the government to plot out lands for allocation to the Métis.
History
Alberta had been established as a provisional district within Canada in 1882, and was expanded and promoted to province status in 1905. This led to an expansion of its population and government oversight as well. As the population grew, the province began to allocate reserve land for agricultural purposes. By the 1930s, this had created trouble for the Métis people, many of whom had been living and hunting in areas that were now being given to new settlers. As the Great Depression strengthened, the Métis people's situation grew worse, and they began to organize to gain a political voice. This led to the 1934 creation of the Ewing Commission, a royal commission intended to develop effective Métis-related policies. The results of the commission's studies formed the basis of the Métis Population Betterment Act, which was passed on November 22, 1938.
The act laid out twelve areas for allocation to the Métis, which were mapped out in 1938 and 1939.
See also
- Métis in Alberta