The Great Land Swindle

In 1870, Louis Riel and those who fought alongside him insisted that the rights of their descendants be protected. Specifically, the Manitoba Act promised 1.4 million acres of land to the Métis. Decades later, less than 10% of that land had made its way into the hands of Métis families. What happened to the rest of it? In this episode we'll be talking about Métis scrip: perplexing government policies, deliberate fraud, and the men who got rich from the whole fiasco.