Kung Jaadee facts for kids

Kung Jaadee (also known as Roberta Kennedy) is a special storyteller from the Haida nation. She lives in Old Massett, a village on Haida Gwaii in British Columbia, Canada. She is also a singer, drummer, teacher, and writes books for children.

Her family gave her the name Kung Jaadee. It means "Woman in the Moon" or "Moon Woman." She passed on her own Haida name, Kwii-Ge-Ii-Ones, to her daughter. This is a traditional Haida custom.

Sharing Haida Stories

Since 1996, Kung Jaadee has shared her stories at many places. She performs at festivals, schools, museums, and Indigenous events. She travels across Canada and the United States.

She started storytelling when her son went to school. She wanted to teach others about the Haida culture. When she was a child, she sometimes faced unfair treatment because of her heritage. Storytelling helps her share the beauty of Haida traditions.

Books and Collaborations

Kung Jaadee is famous for telling stories about Raven. Raven is a very important character in Haida tales. A publisher asked her to turn one of these stories into a book. This book is called Raven's Feast. Jessika von Innerebner drew the pictures for it. It was published in 2016.

She also has another book called Gifts from the Raven. Besides her own books, she has helped write educational books about the Haida Nation. She has also contributed to studies about Indigenous health.

In 2014, Kung Jaadee worked with Haida artist Gwaai Edenshaw and the Taiyuan Puppet Theatre Company from Taiwan. They created a special show using shadow puppets. This show told a Raven story in a new, multicultural way. It was part of a festival at the Museum of Anthropology at UBC.

Kung Jaadee also works as a teacher. She teaches at Chief Matthews School in Old Massett. She also teaches Xaad Kil, which is the Haida language.

Special Recognition

Kung Jaadee has been honored for her storytelling. In 2010, she was a Storyteller-in-Residence at the University of Manitoba. This means she was a special guest storyteller there.

In 2016, she was an artist-in-residence at the Haida Gwaii Museum. This allowed her to spend time creating and sharing her art at the museum.

Public Appearances

Kung Jaadee has performed at several notable events:

• She performed at the Ouxi Taiwanese Puppetry Festival as part of a cultural exchange.
• She performed during the Our Living Languages exhibition at the Royal BC Museum.
• She was a featured storyteller at the 2017 Toronto Storytelling Festival.