Kung Jaadee facts for kids

Kung Jaadee (also known as Roberta Kennedy) is a wonderful storyteller, singer, and drummer from the Haida Nation. She is also a teacher and writes books for children. She comes from the village of Old Massett on Haida Gwaii, which is a group of islands in Northern British Columbia, Canada.

In Haida tradition, names are very special. Kung Jaadee's cousin gave her the name Kung Jaadee, which means "Woman in the Moon" or "Moon Woman," at a family gathering. She also passed on a traditional name, Kwii-Ge-Ii-Ones (Big Loved Cloud), to her daughter.

Storytelling and Books

Kung Jaadee has been sharing her stories since 1996. She performs at many places like festivals, schools, and museums all over Canada and the United States. She started storytelling to help people learn about the Haida culture. When she was a child, she sometimes faced unfair treatment because of her background. Storytelling became a way to share her culture with others.

She is especially known for telling stories about Raven, a very important character in Haida traditions. A publisher asked her to turn one of these Raven stories into a book. This book, called Raven's Feast, was published in 2016. It has beautiful pictures by Jessika von Innerebner. She also wrote another book called Gifts from the Raven, which came out in 2020.

Kung Jaadee has also helped create educational books about the Haida Nation. She has contributed to academic papers about Indigenous health, sharing important knowledge.

Creative Collaborations

In 2014, Kung Jaadee worked with Haida artist Gwaii Edenshaw. They also teamed up with the Taiyuan Puppet Theatre Company from Taiwan. Together, they created a special shadow puppet show that told a Raven story. This show was a mix of different cultures and was part of the Ouxi Taiwanese Puppetry Festival. The festival took place at the Museum of Anthropology at UBC.

Teaching and Recognition

Kung Jaadee is a primary school teacher at Chief Matthews School in Old Massett. She also teaches Xaad Kil, which is the Haida language. This helps keep the language alive for younger generations.

She has received special recognition for her storytelling. In 2010, she was a Storyteller-in-Residence at the University of Manitoba. This means she was invited to share her skills and knowledge there. In 2016, she was an artist-in-residence at the Haida Gwaii Museum.

Public Appearances

Kung Jaadee has shared her stories and culture at many 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.