Last Updated: Wednesday, July 7, 2010 | 4:37 PM CST
CBC Neews
The Canadian Press
The Manitoba Metis Federation wants to take a massive land claim dispute, which includes all of Winnipeg, to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Federation president David Chartrand described a court ruling Wednesday as a small setback and said the group will appeal.
The Manitoba Court of Appeal upheld a lower court ruling that found the federal government did not violate its duty to the Métis when it distributed land more than a century ago.
More than 560,000 hectares, including land now taken up by Winnipeg, were promised to the Métis in 1870, when Manitoba entered Confederation.
The Métis federation says the Métis received much less land than they deserved, and over the many years it took to distribute the land, some prime areas were sold to other people.
In a 250-page written ruling, the Court of Appeal said there were problems with the land distribution but not enough to qualify as a breach of fiduciary duty on behalf of the government.