This fonds consists of correspondence, ledgers and account books, and land scrip registers from the firm of McDougall & Secord reflecting their business operations as fur traders, general merchants, and land speculators.
Some of the records demonstrate the potential impact of the Metis scrip system created by the Canadian government. The government issued scrip documents to the Metis people living in the West ostensibly to assist with their transition to an agrarian lifestyle but really to effect an exchange for their Indigenous land rights. The scrip was redeemable for either land or money. However, the system was complex, possibly misunderstood or underappreciated by the Metis who did not wish to transition away from their traditional lifestyle, and the government’s tolerance of entrepreneurs acquiring the scrip (essentially rights to land ownership) in turn from the Metis is in itself controversial as potentially an extension of the Government's policy to extinguish Indigenous title to the land.
It is notable that the degree to which land sale documentation was completed is noticeably different depending if the other party in the sale was Indigenous or non-Indigenous.
McDougall & Secord Limited
