Kuper Island

Written by: CBC
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  • Summary

  • 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.
    Copyright © CBC 2025
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True Crime
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Episodes
  • Introducing: Kuper Island

    Introducing: Kuper Island
    May 9 2022
    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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    3 mins
  • E1: A School They Called Alcatraz

    E1: A School They Called Alcatraz
    May 17 2022

    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
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    32 mins
  • E2: Nights on the Boys’ Side

    E2: Nights on the Boys’ Side
    May 24 2022

    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
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    39 mins

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Profile Image for Karen Willms

Excellent work

This is a gut wrenching story that needs to be told, needs to be heard, and needs all of us (Canadians especially) to come together for justice and healing. Great job. Keep going!

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Profile Image for tara Sinclair

the truth matters..thanks for bringing into light

was hard to listen but was honored to have the darkness brought into the light..needs to happen for real change to occur..we can't change what we don't acknowledge..thanks for sharing..bless u

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Profile Image for Anonymous User

Required listening

This is difficult yet required listening on the journey of Truth and reconciliation. More hard truths about residential schools are uncovered in this raw journalistic documentation. It is so important that we all take the time to be witness to the truth of our shared history.

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Profile Image for KowenH

Difficult to listen to but necessary.

such a necessary podcast, but so difficult to listen. Duncan McCue was an amazing, thoughtful and caring narrator and journalist.

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