Kuper Island

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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.

CBC Podcasts


    • Jun 21, 2024 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 37m AVG DURATION
    • 15 EPISODES

    Ivy Insights

    The Kuper Island podcast is a powerful and important series that sheds light on the horrific experiences of children in residential schools in Canada. It brings to the forefront truths that need to be spoken out loud, heard, and held by all. The storytelling is wonderful, educational, and eye-opening, allowing listeners to understand the ugly side of human nature and the depths of greed. It tells a story of triumph, showcasing the strength of a people who were not broken despite years of suffering.

    One of the best aspects of this podcast is its well-documented research and sensitivity towards the survivors who share their traumatic experiences. The host, Duncan McCue, does an impressive job as an interviewer, guiding and supporting the survivors through their stories with compassion and respect. His ability to listen and meet every horror revealed with gentle and calm understanding is truly beautiful. This podcast provides thoughtful journalism that sheds light on these painful realities, bringing attention to lives and stories that deserve to be heard.

    However, there are some aspects of the podcast that could have been improved upon. Some listeners felt disappointed in the host's response to the traumatic experiences shared by survivors. They noticed his gasping and questioning responses when it may have been more appropriate for him to simply listen without judgment or interruption. Gasping can sometimes quiet traumatized individuals as they might feel shame or confusion about having to take care of their listener instead. Additionally, there was a moment where the host appeared to question a speaker's hope for abuser prosecution based on age, which could be interpreted as diminishing accountability based on age.

    In conclusion, The Kuper Island podcast is a deeply impactful series that educates listeners about the horrors endured by indigenous children in residential schools in Canada. While it has some areas for improvement in terms of fully holding trauma and understanding survivor perspectives, it remains an essential listen for those seeking an understanding of these historical injustices. The sensitive storytelling and respectful approach make this podcast an important contribution to raising awareness and honoring the victims and their families.



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    Latest episodes from Kuper Island

    Bonus: How to celebrate National Indigenous People's Day all summer long

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 21, 2024 52:00


    Today we have a special bonus episode for you from our sibling show Unreserved, a fearless space for Indigenous voices. Host Rosanna Deerchild is ready to Indigenize your summer with a tastemaker's guide to the best books, movies, podcasts and more. More episodes of Unreserved are available at: https://link.chtbl.com/mytJJc-H

    Kuper Island Introduces: Crime Story

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 20, 2024 48:00


    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

    Kuper Island Introduces: Someone Knows Something | Season 8

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2023 48:13


    Host David Ridgen joins victims' family members as they investigate cold cases, tracking down leads, speaking to suspects and searching for answers. In the highly-anticipated 8th season of Someone Knows Something, award-winning investigator David Ridgen delves into a cold case that has haunted Whitehorse for more than 15 years. Angel Carlick was a vibrant youth worker, nicknamed ‘Happy-Go-Lucky' by her loved ones. She had plans after graduation to become legal guardian of her brother and work to support struggling youth at her local resource centre. But just days before she was set to graduate in 2007, at age 18, Angel disappeared. Months later, her remains were found in a remote area in the Canadian north. As David works alongside Angel's family, friends, and community, he uncovers details surrounding her death and strives to bring her justice, while honouring the legacy of her late mother, Wendy. More episodes are available at: https://link.chtbl.com/N1Jf7WE3

    Kuper Island Introduces: The Urbariginal

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 1, 2023 25:33


    Rudy Kelly's dad was a great chief of the Tsimshian Nation - a champion of the language, culture, and community. Everyone loved him. But did Rudy? As a kid, he looked up to him. Idolized him. But also feared him. And even hated him. He told Rudy that to succeed, he would have to leave everything behind: his family, friends, and culture. In this six-part series, Rudy's journey brings him back in time, to learn how colonization impacted Indigenous people, from those who lived it. To find out who and what his dad really was, and to discover more about himself - the Urbariginal. More episodes are available at: https://link.chtbl.com/LtVNjcLQ

    Kuper Island Introduces: Helluva Story

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 30, 2022 27:50


    Helluva Story is an intimate and illuminating weekly half-hour featuring the best in audio documentary. Listen along with host Duncan McCue as he explores the beauty and messiness of real life with storytellers and their subjects. More episodes are available at: https://link.chtbl.com/-JH561Nv

    Kuper Island Introduces: Pressure Cooker

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 5, 2022 36:10


    John and Amanda have lived on the fringes their whole lives. They're on welfare, living with John's grandma, and struggling with addiction to opioids and Dungeons and Dragons. They've followed crooked paths to this point. John played in heavy metal bands and dabbled with Satanism. Amanda left home and discovered heroin before her 18th birthday. The couple converts to Islam in an attempt to turn their lives around. But things take a wild turn when a mysterious figure enters their lives and draws them into a web of conspiracy, deception and terror. More episodes are available at smarturl.it/pressurecookercbc

    E8: Every Child Matters

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 5, 2022 52:01


    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.

    E7: Hurt People Hurt People

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 28, 2022 45:53


    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.

    E6: It Didn't Feel Like Justice

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 21, 2022 36:48


    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.

    E5: Feeding the Dead

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2022 36:48


    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.

    feeding hul kuper island
    What happened to Richard?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 7, 2022 44:17


    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.

    richard thomas kuper island
    Sink or Swim

    Play Episode Listen Later May 31, 2022 35:57


    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.

    Nights on the Boys' Side

    Play Episode Listen Later May 24, 2022 39:19


    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.

    A School They Called Alcatraz

    Play Episode Listen Later May 17, 2022 31:53


    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.

    Introducing: Kuper Island

    Play Episode Listen Later May 9, 2022 2:54


    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.

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