Kuper Island

CBC

An 8-part series that tells the stories of four students: three who survived and one who didn’t. They attended one of Canada’s most notorious residential schools – where unsolved deaths, abuse, and lies haunt the community and the survivors to this day. Hosted by Duncan McCue. For the best in true crime from CBC, ad-free, visit apple.co/cbctruecrime. read less

Our Editor's Take

The Canadian landscape of Kuper Island has a tragic history known for mysterious events. The show, Kuper Island, is about examining an event that happened to its indigenous people. The host, Duncan McCue, presents this podcast in an eight-part series. The show centers on an event in 2021 when the Penelakut Tribe made a heartbreaking discovery. They found over 160 unmarked and undocumented graves on the former Kuper Island Residential School grounds. This institution was one of many that forced Indigenous children to attend.

In this podcast, listeners hear stories from Kuper Island Residential School survivors. These are stories of abuse, unsolved deaths, and haunting memories. This true crime podcast is an emotional journey that explores the lives of four students. Three survived to tell their stories. One did not. These individuals' tragic experiences offer an honest perspective of their abuse.

It can be difficult to listen to because of the raw and sometimes upsetting content. Still, it's essential to understand Canadian history. One listener said, "It is their stories and our history. We need to know."

Duncan, the host, brings a unique perspective to the podcast. He's an experienced journalist and a member of the Indigenous community. He's a Chippewasq of Georgina Island First Nation member. His insight is a blend of cultural understanding and journalistic examination.

The podcast talks about the hard truths behind these events. But importantly, it shares them with dignity and compassion. These accounts are important reminders of the intergenerational impacts of Canadian policy. It's an interesting listen for those seeking to understand the nation's past better.

Kuper Island is a testament to resilience and survival amidst unimaginable circumstances. The stories invite podcast listeners not only to hear but also to learn from them.

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Introducing: Kuper Island

Introducing: Kuper Island

Long after the Kuper Island Residential School was torn down, the survivors are still haunted by what happened there. Investigative reporter Duncan McCue exposes buried police investigations, confronts perpetrators of abuse and witnesses a community trying to rebuild — literally on top of the old school’s ruins and the unmarked graves of Indigenous children. Episodes release Tuesdays, starting May 17.

Episodes

Introducing: Kuper Island

Introducing: Kuper Island

Long after the Kuper Island Residential School was torn down, the survivors are still haunted by what happened there. Investigative reporter Duncan McCue exposes buried police investigations, confronts perpetrators of abuse and witnesses a community trying to rebuild — literally on top of the old school’s ruins and the unmarked graves of Indigenous children. Episodes release Tuesdays, starting May 17.

E1: A School They Called Alcatraz

E1: A School They Called Alcatraz

Duncan McCue travels to Penelakut, an island off the coast of B.C., and the site of the Kuper Island Residential School. The community has torn down the reviled building, but the dark memories of what happened at the nearly-century old institution linger. Survivors James and Tony Charlie give a tour of their old school grounds, and we look into the mystery of what happened to one boy, Richard Thomas, who did not make it out alive. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/kuper-island-transcripts-listen-1.6622551

E2: Nights on the Boys’ Side

E2: Nights on the Boys’ Side

What was it like to be a student at one of the most notorious residential schools in Canada? Survivors James and Tony Charlie share their own account of recurring sexual abuse at the hands of their teachers, starting with a fateful trip to Montreal's Expo '67. Their stories speak to how abuse rotted all facets of school life — and how at Kuper Island, no child was spared. To find transcriptions for episodes of Kuper Island, please click here: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/kuper-island-transcripts-listen-1.6622551

E3: Sink or Swim

E3: Sink or Swim

Survivor Belvie Brebber tells us about her five years at Kuper Island Residential School, a time filled with fear, cruelty and sexual violence. Belvie makes it out alive, but her younger brother Richard Thomas does not. She describes a terrible phone call that shattered her family forever, and why she never believed the school's story that her beloved brother died by suicide. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/kuper-island-transcripts-listen-1.6622551

E4: What happened to Richard?

E4: What happened to Richard?

Richard Thomas was smart, kind and well-loved. He was having no problems in school and he wanted to go further in education. Then inexplicably, days before his graduation, he’s found dead in the Kuper Island school gym. His death was ruled a suicide — with no further questions as to why. We piece together a portrait of the teenager through his own writings, and find an old coroner’s report that raises more questions than answers about how Thomas died. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/kuper-island-transcripts-listen-1.6622551

E5: Feeding the Dead

E5: Feeding the Dead

An archaeologist uses the stories of survivors and a ground-penetrating radar machine to pinpoint where children who died at the Kuper Island school were buried, sometimes in places where no one ever wanted them to be found. And we explore how the Hul'qumi'num people honour their ancestral dead, and why this work is important when it comes to unsettled spirits and unmarked graves. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/kuper-island-transcripts-listen-1.6622551

E6: It Didn't Feel Like Justice

E6: It Didn't Feel Like Justice

We explore what really happened during a 1990s RCMP task force investigation triggered by the high number of allegations of sexual abuses at the Kuper Island Residential School, and track down a former staff member who witnessed the horrors firsthand. We learn one of the abusers at the school, Brother Glenn Doughty, is still alive. We try to reach him and learn troubling information about his whereabouts. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/kuper-island-transcripts-listen-1.6622551

E7: Hurt People Hurt People

E7: Hurt People Hurt People

The children who attended Kuper Island Residential School faced a terrible aftermath trying to process what happened. The abuse they suffered there often coloured their relationships with family and community — with devastating results. Meanwhile, the team learns one of the perpetrators from the school spent his later years being taken care of in relative comfort — all paid for by the Oblates. They demand to know why. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/kuper-island-transcripts-listen-1.6622551

E8: Every Child Matters

E8: Every Child Matters

The team tracks down the last person to ever see Richard Thomas alive at Kuper Island Residential School. Donnie Sampson was just 10 years old at the time and has disturbing memories of the day — that include a familiar and problematic name from the past. Host Duncan McCue takes the results of the investigation back to Richard’s sister Belvie who must decide what to do next. In Penelakut, the community rallies around their children — the new generation, the adult survivors still healing, and all the ones who never came home. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/kuper-island-transcripts-listen-1.6622551

Kuper Island Introduces: Crime Story

Kuper Island Introduces: Crime Story

Fraud. Abduction. Murder. Every week, Crime Story host and investigative journalist Kathleen Goldhar goes deep into a tale of true crime with the storyteller who knows it best. From the reporter who exposed Bill Cosby, to the writer who solved one of Australia’s most chilling cold cases — Crime Story guests include: Gilbert King (Bone Valley), Eric Benson (Project Unabomb), Carole Fisher (The Girlfriends), and many more. In this episode, Duncan McCue joins Kathleen to go deeper into the reporting that went into the creation of Kuper Island, the lack of accountability in the way our criminal justice system works, and the importance of honouring the stories that were shared with Duncan for the series. More episodes of Crime Story are available at: https://link.chtbl.com/AJQF9AKR