Angela Sidney facts for kids

Angela Sidney, CM (January 4, 1902 – July 17, 1991) was an amazing storyteller from the Tagish First Nation. She loved sharing old stories and traditions from her people. Angela helped write down many traditional Tagish legends. She also recorded important Tagish place names from southern Yukon.

Because of her hard work in preserving her language and culture, Angela received a very special award. It was called the Order of Canada. She was the first Native woman from Yukon to get this honor!

Angela once said:

"Well, I have no money to leave for my grandchildren. My stories are my wealth!"

The Life of Angela Sidney

Early Years

Angela Sidney was born near a place called Carcross in 1902. She was given two traditional names at birth. One was Ch'óonehte' Ma in the Tagish language. The other was Stóow in the Tlingit language. When she was two weeks old, her godfather gave her the name Angela.

Her mother, Maria John, was from the Tlingit Deisheetaan (Crow) clan. Her father, Tagish John, was from the Tagish Dakhl'awedi clan. Angela had a brother, Johnny Johns, and a sister, Alice Dora. Angela spent a lot of time helping her mother. She also loved listening to her mother's stories. Angela went to school in Carcross at the Anglican mission school before she was ten years old.

Angela's father's cousins were Skookum Jim, Kate Carmack, and Dawson Charlie. They are famous for finding gold. This discovery led to the big Klondike Gold Rush in 1896.

Adulthood and Storytelling

When Angela was 14, she married George Sidney. They had seven children together. George worked for the White Pass and Yukon Route railroad. He later became the chief in Carcross.

Angela loved listening to the stories from her parents and other relatives. She wanted to make sure these important traditions were not forgotten. So, she started teaching Tagish traditions to schoolchildren. She also worked with language experts and researchers. These experts, called linguists and anthropologists, studied the Tagish language and traditions. Angela helped them so the Tagish language would not be lost.

Angela also taught her niece, Louise Profeit-LeBlanc, how to be a storyteller. She taught that a storyteller must think about the audience. She also said it was good to say a prayer before telling a story.

Angela Sidney passed away in 1991. Her daughter, Ida Calmegane, survived her.

Awards and Honors

• 1986: Angela Sidney became a Member of the Order of Canada. This is one of Canada's highest honors.
• Yukon International Storytelling Festival: Angela inspired this festival. It started in 1988. Other storytellers learned that Angela had to travel far away to share her stories. They wanted to create a festival closer to home for her and others.

Selected Stories

• Getting married
• The stolen woman
• How people got flint
• The old woman under the world
• Moldy head
• Fox helper
• Wolf story
• Potlatch story