A school they called Alcatraz: Survivor reflects on sisters' deaths at Kuper Island Residential School

WARNING: This story contains details some readers may find distressing.

Surrounded by water, B.C.'s Kuper Island Residential School had such a notorious reputation, survivors callit "Alcatraz" after the maximum security prisoninSan Francisco Baywhere no prisoner could escape.

But unlike Alcatraz, the stories out of the school,and themotivations and circumstances of the young children who tried to leaveareharder to uncover.

Survivor Karen McCallum, 67, whoseolder half-sisters Beverly and Patricia Joseph were presumed drowned trying to escape, is still looking for answers.

"There was obviously something going on [at the school] that they did not want to be there," McCallum told CBC.

Located on what is now known as Penelakut Island, off the coast of Chemainus on Vancouver Island and surrounded by the Salish Sea, the only way to and from the school was by ferry,commanded by the Catholic priests and brothers who worked there.

In the new CBCpodcastKuper Island, survivor Belvie Brebber, a cousin of Beverly and Patricia, describes experiences of sexual abuse at the school,which operated from 1889 to 1975.

"It wasn't only me that [it] was done [to]," Brebbersaid. "This Brother was raping them all."

The school was demolished in the 1980s.

Kuper Island is an eight-part series about four former students forced to attend the institution: three who survived and one who didn't. Host Duncan McCuepieces their stories together through historic records, police investigations and coroner's reports, in addition to interviews withcommunity members and former school officials.

LISTEN | Kuper Island Episode 1:A School They Called Alcatraz:

Kuper Island31:44E1: 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

Warned against escaping

When Brebber was ordered to attend the school against her family's wishes, she says hermother warned against trying to escape.

Over the years, many childrentried to,clinging tologs orsmall boats butfew weresuccessful.StudentEmile William, who escaped in 1907, drowned. His bodywasn't found until spring.

In the 1940s and1950s, government officials recordedconcerns about the large number of runaways from the area.

McCallum, who was four when her sisters died, says she could only imagine what prompted them to make the dangerous journey.

She says she remembers them asthe type of siblings who would let their little sister nestle in their soft, long hair as they held her on their laps.

"I see other people with brothers and sisters and how they can call them up ... there's nobody else around me," said McCallum. "[It's] a very deep loss."

Deaths found 'accidental'

The deaths of the Joseph sisters attracted attention from local media.

They reported it was a Friday night in January 1959 when Beverly and Patricia Joseph, age12 and 14, slipped from their beds,snuck down to the waterfrontand stole a six-foot canoe.

Though theirdisappearance was noted in the morning, it was only reported to police in the afternoon. Two days later, Patricia's body washed ashore. Beverly was never found.

They were presumed drowned.

The media speculated on whythe girls would want to leave the school in the dead of winterand make their way across the frigid and gusty open ocean. One theory wasthey were trying to attend a dance; another was they were trying to see their mother.

An inquest was scheduled in the days following their deaths.

Around that time, letters fromKuper Island'sprincipalexpressed concern to Catholic officialsaboutthe impact the inquest might have on the school's reputation.

But little was revealed:the coroner who examined Patricia's body found nothing unusual and considered her death a drowning.

An oblate who worked at the school told the jury the sisters hadarrived only a few months earlier andthey "seemed happy and well-adjusted to the school life."

The jury took15 minutes to find Patricia's death was "accidental with no blame attached to anyone."

WATCH | The haunting legacy ofKuper Island Residential School:

Kuper Island: Uncovering the B.C. residential schools notorious past

2 years ago

Duration 4:35

CBCs Duncan McCue details the haunting legacy left behind by B.C.s Kuper Island Residential School and the horrors survivors continue to face.

The sisterswere just two of the 167 children who died at Kuper Islandidentified by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. In July 2021, the Penelakut Tribe, on whose land the school was built, foundunmarked graves in the area. They'reworking on identifying more.

The school has been subject to police investigations, including the province-wide B.C. RCMP Native Indian Residential School Task Forcebetween 1994 and 2003. Future episodes of Kuper Islandexplore theinvestigations and court battles.

Enduring grief

McCallum says she remembersrunning up to her sister's casket during the funeral.

"I remember yelling at them, 'You can't take her,'" McCallum said. "That's my sister. Don't take her away ... and I remember somebody grabbing me and trying to take me away."

She says she remembershow her heartbroken mother turned to alcohol afterward, and how they became homeless, sleeping on cardboard under streetlightsin Duncan.

"She wasn't able to ever get back to herself," McCallum said. "She never really got over losing them, ever."

A few years later McCallum herself was forced to attend Kuper Island, and was ferried across the same waters that took her sisters' lives.

She says there was one bright spot:attending the institution connected her with her long-lost fatherwho worked near the school. DonaldThomas Seymour,who himself had been caught trying to escape Kuper Island as a young boy, visited his daughter every Friday.

They lost touch after McCallum left the schoolbutreconnected again later in life. Neitherspoke of their experiences at Kuper Island.

"We had some good years together after that ...he never spoke of Kuper Island. So I don't think I would want to remember him that way. I just want to rememberthe happiness that he had," she said.

McCallum says feeling robbed of time and connection with hersisters remains fresh to this day along with the mystery behind what prompted them to leave.

"I just wish we had more time. But we didn't. That was taken away from us."

New episodes of Kuper Island air Tuesday.

Support is available for anyone affected by their experience at residential schoolsand those who are triggered by the latest reports.

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for former students and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.