About the Legacy Fund

Canada’s steps toward addressing the intergenerational impacts of colonization and racism against Indigenous peoples — in other words, reconciliation — are just beginning, but some landmark settlements have been reached.

In 2009, Indian Day Schools Survivors began legal action against the Federal Government, seeking compensation for abuse and other damage from forced attendance at Indian Day Schools. In 2019, they entered into a $1.47B settlement, with $200 Million earmarked for the MDSSC and its Legacy Fund for Survivors, their children, and grandchildren. MDSSC’s unique cross-Canada engagement sessions aim to obtain input for the Legacy Fund’s implementation and administration from approximately 120,000 people.

The voices of Day School Survivors must remain central through this process — this is the commitment of MDSSC’s Board, as it is also their hope that MDSSC and the Legacy Fund will create enduring outcomes of the McLean Federal Indian Day Schools Class Action settlement and will be a major source of support for Survivors and their families.

Engagement process
The McLean Day Schools Settlement Corporation (MDSSC) will support Federal Indian Day School Survivors and their families through the $200M MDSSC Legacy Fund which will help fund projects that support language & culture, healing & wellness, commemoration, and truth telling. The MDSSC Legacy Fund Outreach Process was a way for Survivors and their families to give us input directly to help guide the implementation of the Legacy Fund and ensure it is responsive to their needs.

We sincerely thank all the Federal Indian Day School Survivors and their family members who participated. Your feedback is invaluable, and will help guide the direction of the MDSSC Legacy Fund, ensuring it serves as a key source of support for Survivors, their children and grandchildren.

“I know you may not know some of the damages that have happened, and for me, I forgive you for that, because for me without forgiveness things stay the same.”

— Garry McLean, Lead plaintiff in Indian Day School class action lawsuit

About Day Schools

Approximately 200,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend federally operated Indian Day Schools, in every province and territory, from the mid-1800s until 2000. An often-overlooked part of Indigenous and Canadian history, Indian Day Schools resulted in the severing of cultural connections, including Indigenous languages, cultural practices, and ways of being, for hundreds of thousands of Indigenous children and families.

Government-sanctioned abuses led to a painful legacy that is still felt today due to the abuse, neglect, and negligible education at these schools.

MDSSC is hopeful that with Indigenous leadership and the perspectives of Day School Survivors, they will create positive pathways for healing, and help restore language, culture, wellness, commemoration, and truth telling.

Claim Questions

Meet the Board

The McLean Day Schools Settlement Corporation Legacy Fund is administered by a Board who are Day School Survivors and experts. The Board currently has three members and is planning to expand to seven members.

Elder Claudette Commanda

A professor, plaintiff and Survivor who has dedicated her life to promoting First Nations people, rights, history and culture.

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Professor Claudette Commanda is an Algonquin Anishinabe from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation who has dedicated the last 35 years to promoting First Nations people, history, culture, and rights. At the University of Ottawa, she is the former chair of the Indigenous Education Council and a professor for the Institute of Women’s Studies; Faculties of Education and Law; and the Aboriginal Studies Program. She is also the Special Advisor on Reconciliation for the Dean, Faculty of Law.

In 2017, Claudette was the first Elder-in-Residence for the Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa, and the first person of a First Nation heritage appointed to the University’s Board of Governors. In March 2020, Claudette received the 2020 INDSPIRE Award for Culture, Heritage and Spirituality.

She was inducted into the Common Law Honour Society, serving two terms on the Board of Governors for the First Nations University of Canada and three terms on the Kitigan Zibi band council, and she is CEO of the First Nations Confederacy of Cultural Education Centres. Claudette is a proud mother of four and grandmother of ten.

Chief Roger Augustine

The AFN Regional Chief for New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, as well as a plaintiff and Survivor who has extensive experience in First Nations leadership and capacity building.

Roger Augustine, a Mi’kmaq from New Brunswick, has been involved in Aboriginal and Canadian leadership for over 40 years, promoting collaboration, mutual respect, peace and friendship.

Mr. Augustine was Chief of Eel Ground First Nation from 1980 to 1996. As a community leader, his numerous accomplishments include signing the historic 1981 Declaration of Aboriginal and Treaty Rights, and negotiating a $90 million partnership for eight New Brunswick First Nations communities in 1995. One of his greatest achievements is addressing addiction in his community through a curriculum for Eel Ground Federal School, receiving awards as Chairman of the National Drug and Alcohol Advisory Board.

He remains Chairman of the Rising Sun Treatment Centre at Eel Ground, and is Chairman for the Center of Indigenous Environmental Resources, a Commissioner for Indian Land Claims, an Assurance Group Member of Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development, and a member of the Indigenous Advisory Council with BMO.

Chief Augustine has received national recognition for his lifetime of service and leadership, including the Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee Medal (2002), the National Achievement Medal from Société Nationale de lè Acadie (2018), and the Queen’s Meritorious Service Medal (2020).

Clara Gloria Wells

Clara Gloria Wells was born to Annie and Richard Sr Day Chief, with grandparents Willy and Alice White Feathers and John and Minnie Day Chief. She is from the Motoisspitailsi clan, part of the Siksikaitsitapi Confederation, and speaks fluent Blackfoot.

Her education includes college and accounting. She worked with Canada Manpower for a year and 1 year with Indian Affairs. Also, she spent 8 years with the Arts and Crafts National Organization. Gloria continues to serve on the Board of Governors of the First Nations Confederacy of Cultural Education Centres, MacLean Day Schools Settlement Corporation and Aitipoyiiksi.

For many years, she has been the Executive Director of Ninastako Cultural Centre, in a role that allows her to encourage young people to learn more about their Blackfoot language and their culture.

Name

Clara Gloria Wells was born to Annie and Richard Sr Day Chief, with grandparents Willy and Alice White Feathers and John and Minnie Day Chief. She is from the Motoisspitailsi clan, part of the Siksikaitsitapi Confederation, and speaks fluent Blackfoot.

Her education includes college and accounting. She worked with Canada Manpower for a year and 1 year with Indian Affairs. Also, she spent 8 years with the Arts and Crafts National Organization. Gloria continues to serve on the Board of Governors of the First Nations Confederacy of Cultural Education Centres, MacLean Day Schools Settlement Corporation and Aitipoyiiksi.

For many years, she has been the Executive Director of Ninastako Cultural Centre, in a role that allows her to encourage young people to learn more about their Blackfoot language and their culture.

Meet the Board​

The McLean Day Schools Settlement Corporation Legacy Fund is administered by a Board who are Day School Survivors and experts. The Board currently has three members and is planning to expand to seven members.

Elder Claudette Commanda
CEO

A professor, plaintiff and Survivor who has dedicated her life to promoting First Nations people, rights, history and culture.

Professor Claudette Commanda is an Algonquin Anishinabe from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation who has dedicated the last 35 years to promoting First Nations people, history, culture, and rights. At the University of Ottawa, she is the former chair of the Indigenous Education Council and a professor for the Institute of Women’s Studies; Faculties of Education and Law; and the Aboriginal Studies Program. She is also the Special Advisor on Reconciliation for the Dean, Faculty of Law.

In 2017, Claudette was the first Elder-in-Residence for the Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa, and the first person of a First Nation heritage appointed to the University’s Board of Governors. In March 2020, Claudette received the 2020 INDSPIRE Award for Culture, Heritage and Spirituality.

She was inducted into the Common Law Honour Society, serving two terms on the Board of Governors for the First Nations University of Canada and three terms on the Kitigan Zibi band council, and she is CEO of the First Nations Confederacy of Cultural Education Centres. Claudette is a proud mother of four and grandmother of ten.

Chief Roger Augustine
Board Member

The AFN Regional Chief for New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, as well as a plaintiff and Survivor who has extensive experience in First Nations leadership and capacity building.

Roger Augustine, a Mi’kmaq from New Brunswick, has been involved in Aboriginal and Canadian leadership for over 40 years, promoting collaboration, mutual respect, peace and friendship.

Mr. Augustine was Chief of Eel Ground First Nation from 1980 to 1996. As a community leader, his numerous accomplishments include signing the historic 1981 Declaration of Aboriginal and Treaty Rights, and negotiating a $90 million partnership for eight New Brunswick First Nations communities in 1995. One of his greatest achievements is addressing addiction in his community through a curriculum for Eel Ground Federal School, receiving awards as Chairman of the National Drug and Alcohol Advisory Board.

He remains Chairman of the Rising Sun Treatment Centre at Eel Ground, and is Chairman for the Center of Indigenous Environmental Resources, a Commissioner for Indian Land Claims, an Assurance Group Member of Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development, and a member of the Indigenous Advisory Council with BMO.

Chief Augustine has received national recognition for his lifetime of service and leadership, including the Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee Medal (2002), the National Achievement Medal from Société Nationale de lè Acadie (2018), and the Queen’s Meritorious Service Medal (2020).

Gloria Wells

Elder Clara Gloria Wells
Board Member

Elder Clara Gloria Wells was born to Annie and Richard Sr Day Chief, with grandparents Willy and Alice White Feathers and John and Minnie Day Chief. She is from the Motoisspitailsi clan, part of the Siksikaitsitapi Confederation, and speaks fluent Blackfoot.

Her education includes college and accounting. She worked with Canada Manpower for a year and 1 year with Indian Affairs. Also, she spent 8 years with the Arts and Crafts National Organization. Gloria continues to serve on the Board of Governors of the First Nations Confederacy of Cultural Education Centres, MacLean Day Schools Settlement Corporation and Aitipoyiiksi.

For many years, she has been the Executive Director of Ninastako Cultural Centre, in a role that allows her to encourage young people to learn more about their Blackfoot language and their culture.

About Garry McLean

The Legacy Fund derives its name from Garry McLean. Elder McLean was a member of the Lake Manitoba First Nation and represented approximately 200,000 Survivors as the lead plaintiff in the Federal Indian Day Schools Class Action. Although he passed away weeks before the establishment of Legacy Fund, the settlement which bears his name is infused with his spirit.

Elder McLean was a band councillor, social worker, and civil servant. He was a fierce advocate for Indian Day School Survivors, as well as their families. The work of Garry McLean embodies strength, service to community, and the importance of justice, and the Legacy Fund seeks to continue this critical work.

Garry McLean (Zhoongi-ghabowi ininah, “Standing Strong Man”) of the Bear Clan was born and raised in Dog Creek Lake Manitoba First Nation, where he lived with his parents and seven siblings. His nickname, “Sunny Boy”, came from his love for waking up early and a cereal he’d beg his grandfather to buy. Despite both parents attending residential school, their connection to language and culture remained strong; Garry spoke Saulteaux Ojibway all his life.

Garry was just six or seven when he began attending the Dog Creek Day School. Shortly after the morning bell rang, he would get the strap for not saying ‘good morning’ in English. Despite the darker times he endured in his youth, Garry shared his gifts of joy and positivity, believing change and growth first begins within. “You’ve gotta,” he’d say. “Ask and have faith that support and guidance will meet you on your path.”

A strong advocate for Treaty rights, Garry was devoted to the interests and well-being of First Nations people, serving as political advisor to three Manitoba Grand Chiefs. He never tired of volunteering his time and talents, and was lead plaintiff in a multi-billion-dollar lawsuit against the federal government for Indian Day Schools. An Indigenous leader and mentor of many abilities, he was also an elected councilor, general manager, director, salesman, and co-published the Indigenous newspaper, Weetamah.

Garry was married and has a daughter and granddaughter. Despite his many professional successes, some of his favourite roles were those of Father, Papa, Uncle, Brother, and friend.

“My life is bigger than I am” is the simple quote taped above the mirror in Garry’s bathroom, serving as a regular reminder of what’s possible.

About the motif design

logo

The motif design incorporates floral elements that include a variety of plant life that are traditionally healing and sustaining for Indigenous people from coast to coast to coast. At the centre of the motif is the icon of the McLean Day Schools Settlement Corporation, surrounded by seeds with stems emanating from the cyclical form of the icon. From the stems, plant life including leaves, berries, flowers and seeds flows outwardly.

The stems and wide array of plant life illustrate the interconnectedness of this shared experience, the resilience of communities and the collective healing and growth the Legacy Fund will offer community members. The plants shown here are an inclusive offering of hope, healing and paths forward.

“My life is bigger than I am”.

– Garry McLean