Intertribal Life Newspaper -

Toronto, Ont.—When the 2006 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement was created in 2006, students who attended federally-run schools were allowed $10,000 for the first year of living at a residential school and $3000 for each year succeeding year. However, those who only attended residential schools during the day, but were able to go home at night, were left out of the settlement.

In October 2021, the Federal Court has approved a day scholar settlement that includes individual compensation of $10,000 and a $50 million, agreeing that day residential school survivors suffered the same destruction of language and culture as other students at residential schools. As of early January the claims process opened for the Day Scholars Revitalization Fund to support healing, linguistic and cultural reclamation.

The settlement stemmed from a lawsuit filed in 2012 by Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc and shíshálh Nation.

“It’s a really big relief that we are finally going to be getting compensation and that Canada is recognizing that we were adversely affected by the residential school the same as the residential school survivors,” said Diene Jules, who daily went to a residential school from 1962 to 1967.

Any day scholar who attended a residential school on the list at http://www.justicefordayscholars.com/schools-lists/ is able to make a claim. There is also an estate claim process on behalf of day scholars who died after May 30, 2005. Survivors are not required to share their experiences at the schools as part of the process.

This is a separate settlement from the 2019 settlement for former students of federal day schools. Claimants have until July 2022 to apply for the compensation.