Day Scholars
Revitalization Society

There are a few reasons why your school, or your parent's school, may not be on the list. In many cases, your school may fall into a different group or category.

For example, "Day scholars" and "Day School survivors" refer to two distinct groups of Indigenous individuals who experienced harms through Canada's colonial education system but were historically treated differently in compensation settlements.

The key difference lies in where they slept: Day scholars attended Residential Schools but returned home at night, while Day School survivors attended separate, usually church-run, day schools that were not part of the residential school boarding system.

‍Day Scholars (Gottfriedson Settlement)

• ‍Definition: Indigenous children who attended a federal Indian Residential School during the day but did not sleep there overnight.
• Experience: These individuals were subjected to the same forced assimilation, prohibition of language, and cultural destruction as residential school students, as well as potential physical or sexual abuse during the day.
• Background: They were excluded from the 2006 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) because they did not live at the school.
• Settlement: A class action (Gottfriedson) led to a settlement approved in 2021, providing $10,000 in compensation for loss of language and culture.
• ‍Status: The claims process closed on January 4, 2024.

‍Day School Survivors (McLean Settlement)

• ‍Definition: Individuals who attended one of the hundreds of Federal Indian Day Schools, which were often located on reserves and operated by the government and churches, usually from 1920 onwards.
• Experience: Survivors experienced widespread, systemic abuse, and in many cases, extreme abuse, similar to residential schools, though they returned home at night.
• Background: These schools were not boarding schools; they were established to transition to a, or concurrently run with, the residential school system for assimilation.
• Settlement: A separate, nation-wide class action (McLean) was settled to provide compensation for harm suffered at these schools.
• Status: Claims for the Federal Indian Day School settlement are handled through a separate process (indiandayschools.com).

*Please note that if the Residential School you or your parent attended is not listed you may not be eligible to apply for a Day Scholars Revitalization grant.

If this is your situation, we encourage you to visit the websites of similar organizations that offer grant opportunities to Residential School Survivors and their Descendants who are not Day Scholars: