Lawyers for the Manitoba Métis Federation took a land claim that stretches back to the 19th century to the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

They said the federal government failed to uphold a deal between Louis Riel and the Prime Minister in 1870.

The land in question is 1.4 million acres along the banks of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, including portions inside the City of Winnipeg and stretching from Selkirk to the U.S. border and west to Portage la Prairie.

Métis officials said they don't want to take property away from Winnipeggers and other Manitobans. 

Instead, they want compensation and Crown land of their own. 

"This case represents the unfinished business of Confederation," said Thomas Berger, a lawyer for the MMF.

Lawyers for the MMF were in front of nine justices with the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

The MMF said that in 1870 the federal government agreed to grant land to 7,000 Métis children as part of a deal to end the Red River rebellion.

"They did not take reasonable steps to ensure that the children were settled," said Berger.

The MMF said that promise was never fulfilled and officials argue the delay allowed non-Métis from Ontario to move in and settle in Manitoba instead.

The MMF said if the Supreme Court rules in its favour, it can begin negotiating with the federal and provincial governments for compensation.

"We're hoping that a decision will guide us," said David Chartrand, president of the MMF.

Lawyers for the Crown argue, however, that the land was legally given to individual settlers.

"By virtue of the Constitution Act of 1871 - that requires that these lands be selected and granted to individuals and that is what was done," said Mark Kindrachuk.

Ottawa argues it's also too late to bring the claim forward. Two lower courts in Manitoba previously agreed, dismissing the case.

The MMF disagrees and said it's confident the Supreme Court will side with the Métis people.

"It felt very, very positive. It felt very, very good and, again, we don't know what the judiciary will say. The Supreme Court has all the power," said Chartrand.

The MMF said it will take some time for the justices to reach a decision because they have extensive information to review. When the case was in a lower court in Winnipeg, extra book shelves had to be brought into the courtroom to hold the volumes of documents related to the claim.

- with a report from CTV's Jeff Keele