WARNING: This details in this story may be triggering

At the age of six, Angel Sampson was forced to learn how to keep a secret.

While children are often taught to never lie to their parents, for Sampson it felt like a matter of life and death sa国际传媒� facing recurring violence and abuse at the Tsartlip Indian Day School in Saanichton, returning home each day in fear.

sa国际传媒淭he nuns threatened every day with more beatings, they would say wesa国际传媒檙e all going to go to hell if we talked about it, our parents would go to jail, we could be adopted out, or we can be put in an orphanage,sa国际传媒� Sampson said. sa国际传媒淭hose are the threats we got at the age of six.sa国际传媒�

Unlike residential schools, where children were forced to live there day and night, the roughly 200,000 Indigenous children who attended day schools across Canada would go home at the end of a school day.

Sampson, while sitting at a small table inside a coffee shop just outside of Tsartlip, appeared confident sa国际传媒� with openness sa国际传媒� and no nervousness; a stark contrast to the dark and disturbing sexual abuse and disregard for decency and safety she faced while attending the day school.

At the hands of Catholic clergy members, fellow students, doctors and dentists sa国际传媒� all before she was the age of 10 sa国际传媒� many of the incidents and abuse she recounted to Black Press Media are too disturbing to publish.

Sampson has been a beacon for many local fellow Indigenous people as they navigate intergenerational traumas, the permanent impacts of abuse, and most recently the $1.47 billion federal settlement for survivors of residential schools and day schools in the country.

She was one of six plaintiffs named in the original on the landmark case that began in 2009.

sa国际传媒淲hen we all decided that we were going to settle, I didnsa国际传媒檛 think it would be this small amount for everything that we had to endure,sa国际传媒� she said.

sa国际传媒淚 said, sa国际传媒榮hame on you Canada.sa国际传媒� It wasnsa国际传媒檛 just one child, it was hundreds of thousands of children that went through what I went through at every Day School across this country. And thatsa国际传媒檚 all theysa国际传媒檙e offering?sa国际传媒�

After the case was settled in 2019, survivors had to fill out a form and provide proof that they attended the school to receive their settlement: They could claim between $10,000 and $200,000 based on the abuse they endured. Those who were seeking more than the minimum settlement would need to provide more details and witness statements.

Claimants had three years to submit their application to Deloitte, an auditing firm that was appointed to administer the settlement, from January 2020 to 2023.

After the end of the submission period, there would be no further extensions, and no way to re-submit or amend the claimantsa国际传媒檚 first submission after they receive their settlement dollars.

Deloitte said they could not comment on matters related to the settlement, and they referred Black Press Media to Argyle, a communications firm that also speaks on behalf of Gowling WLG, a law firm that represented survivors in the class-action.

Argyle, on behalf of Gowling, said since the settlement, the Indian Day School website has seen 2.7 million visits. Fifteen thousand packages have been sent to friendship centres, band offices and Indigenous political organizations, and approximately 30 in-person and 50 virtual sessions took place in an effort to inform survivors of the settlement.

Sampson says those efforts werensa国际传媒檛 enough, and shesa国际传媒檚 currently working with multiple Tsartlip survivors on a weekly basis in an attempt to appeal the process with Deloitte.

sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 so many that applied for the highest amount, and then Deloitte has turned on that and said sa国际传媒榳e think you only deserve $10,000,sa国际传媒檚a国际传媒� Sampson said.

sa国际传媒淕oing through COVID, there was no ability to work one-on-one, face-to-face with anybody. There was no getting therapy from anybody and everybody just felt lost. They didnsa国际传媒檛 know how to do these forms, because our lawyers were back east, and everybodysa国际传媒檚 like, sa国际传媒榳hat the hell? What do we do now?sa国际传媒檚a国际传媒�

She said most survivors shesa国际传媒檚 spoken with only applied for the minimum settlement in-part because they didnsa国际传媒檛 want to re-live past traumas, and akso due to minimal support during the pandemic.

Sampson thinks most of the survivors would have been able to qualify for level four or five settlements.

According to Crown-Indigenous Relations, as of April 1, 151,198 claims have been compensated, of which 115,680 have been paid as a minimum $10,000 claim.

sa国际传媒淎ll aspects of the settlement agreement, including the compensation amounts, claims process and timelines, were approved by the Federal Court of Canada as fair, just and in the best interest of class members, and independent from the Government of Canada,sa国际传媒� noted a statement from the ministy of crown-Indigenous relations.

sa国际传媒淒eloitte is responsible for receiving and reviewing claim forms, determining eligibility and level of compensation to be awarded, and they are responsible for keeping class members updated on the status of their claim. Any intervention by the Government of Canada in the claims administratorsa国际传媒檚 processing of a survivorsa国际传媒檚 claim would be inappropriate and contrary to the settlement agreement and Federal court order.sa国际传媒�

Roughly 30,000 claims are in various stages of processing, according to Argyle sa国际传媒� some waiting for over two years, Sampson said, adding that there has been little-to-no communication between survivors and Gowling and Deloitte since the end of the submission period.

Over the past three years, Sampson has spoken with multiple other law firms in an attempt to press charges against the Roman Catholic Church, which ran over 300 of the 699 day schools across Canada.

sa国际传媒淭heysa国际传媒檙e getting away with decades and decades of abuse, and murder, and I donsa国际传媒檛 know why people donsa国际传媒檛 want to help us. Thatsa国际传媒檚 how our people are viewing the church, is that they are above the law,sa国际传媒� she said.

Currently, she continues to work with survivors and their families on having their voices heard, and attempting to advocate for appropriate reparations for the abuse she and her community went through.

This includes just the other day, helping a young woman understand what her late father experienced while in the same school.

sa国际传媒淚 knew, I was there. So I wrote a narrative for her. I had to tell her and she just cried and cried. Shesa国际传媒檚 almost 30 years old, this young woman, and shesa国际传媒檚 hearing about it for the first time in her life. The government should be ashamed for how they cheat our people and how they neglect our people.sa国际传媒�

Sampson has since also opened a daycare in Saanichton, winning an Aboriginal Child Care Award for her work as an early childhood educator.

Itsa国际传媒檚 one way she says she is ensuring that children know they have a voice in this world.

sa国际传媒淭heysa国际传媒檒l always have a voice where Isa国际传媒檓 concerned, I will never ever not listen to a child talk. No matter how crazy their conversations get. You know, childcare has given me hope for our people.sa国际传媒�

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