This parchment document was issued under the Great Seal of Canada. It appointed Narcisse-Omer Côté and Roger Goulet as Royal Commissioners with authority to issue land and money scrip to Métis residents of the North-West Territories. The scrip was meant "...to satisfy any claims existing in connection with the extinguishment of the Indian title preferred by half-breed residents...". Although the federal government had the authority to deal with Métis claims, it put together a scrip commission for the North-West Territories only when news of the Métis rebellion at Batoche reached eastern Canada.