Kuper Island
Encyclopedia
Kuper Island belongs to the Penelakut
Penelakut
The Penelakut are a small Hul'qumi'num-speaking First Nation. They live primarily at the south end of Vancouver Island and Kuper Island, Tent Island and Galiano Island....
First Nation and is located in the southern Gulf Islands
Gulf Islands
The Gulf Islands are the islands in the Strait of Georgia , between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, Canada....
between Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
and the mainland Pacific coast of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Kuper has a population of about 300 members of the Penelakut Band. The island has an area of 8.66 km². There is frequent car and passenger ferry service to Kuper from Chemainus on Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
.
A Mediterranean climate of mild winters and warm, dry summers supports a unique ecosystem and an ideal living environment. Kuper Island is in the rain shadow
Rain shadow
A rain shadow is a dry area on the lee side of a mountainous area. The mountains block the passage of rain-producing weather systems, casting a "shadow" of dryness behind them. As shown by the diagram to the right, the warm moist air is "pulled" by the prevailing winds over a mountain...
of Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
, with an annual rainfall of about 850 mm. There is a Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
and a longhouse, but no commercial establishments on the island. From 1890 to 1978, the Catholic Church had a Residential School
Residential school
Residential school may refer to:* Canadian Indian residential school system* a term used to describe boarding schools*A residential treatment center for people with addictions or severe mental illnesses...
on the island, and there is still much bitterness over its reputed brutal practiceshttp://canadiangenocide.nativeweb.org/photokuperislandgrimlittany.html. The present comprehensive school is run by the Penelakut. Because it is an Indian reserve
Indian reserve
In Canada, an Indian reserve is specified by the Indian Act as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." The Act also specifies that land reserved for the use and benefit of a band which is not...
, property is not available for purchase. (There is one private lot dating from the events of 1863).
History
BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
sailors surveying the area in 1851 cruised into a tiny group of five unnamed islands in the Strait of Georgia
Strait of Georgia
The Strait of Georgia or the Georgia Strait is a strait between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is approximately long and varies in width from...
, naming the two largest Kuper and Thetis
Thetis Island
Thetis Island is an island off the coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is one of the Gulf Islands. The island was named in 1851 after HMS Thetis, a 36-gun Royal Navy frigate commanded by Captain Augustus Leopold Kuper . The ship was named after the Nereid Thetis from Greek mythology...
, after their Captain Augustus Leopold Kuper
Augustus Leopold Kuper
Admiral Sir Augustus Leopold Kuper GCB was a Royal Navy officer known for his commands in the far east.-Naval career:...
R.N. (1809-1885) and his frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
, HMS Thetis
HMS Thetis (1846)
HMS Thetis was a 36-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. After nearly a decade of service with the British, she was one of two frigates transferred to Prussia in exchange for two gunboats...
, a 36-gun Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
frigate on the Pacific Station between 1851 and 1853.
On April 20, 1863, the British gunboat HMS Forward attacked the native village on Kuper Island. The captain believed that the village harboured individuals of the separate Lamalchi tribe involved in two recent assaults in the Gulf Islands
Gulf Islands
The Gulf Islands are the islands in the Strait of Georgia , between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, Canada....
in which three Europeans had been murdered. The gunboat fired on the village but, unprepared for a naval landing, was repulsed with casualties after a fierce battle with a handful of warriors. Following this defeat, the colonial government responded with one of the largest military operations in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
's history, which took place on the east coast of Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
and extended throughout the waters and islands of Active Pass
Active Pass
Active Pass is a narrow passage separating Mayne Island and Galiano Island in British Columbia, Canada's Southern Gulf Islands. It is one of three passes leading from the Gulf Islands into the Strait of Georgia...
, Trincomali Channel
Trincomali Channel
Trincomali Channel is a channel or strait in the Gulf Islands of British Columbia, Canada, located between Saltspring Island and Galiano Island . It is named for HMS Trincomalee which was assigned to the Royal Navy's Pacific Station at Esquimalt in the 19th Century....
and Stuart Channel. In the end, the government publicly hanged four natives in Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
. The Lamalchi village site was confiscated and awarded to the family of a sailor who had been killed.