Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio
Acting
Biography
Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio is a Kanaka Maoli wahine poet, activist and academic. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor of Indigenous and Native Hawaiian Politics at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. Osorio is a three-time national poetry champion, poetry mentor, and a published author. She is a proud past Kaiāpuni student, Ford fellow, and a graduate of Kamehameha, Stanford (BA), and New York University (MA).
Known For
On Wednesday, July 17th 2019, a heavily armed police force arrested 36 Native Hawaiian kūpuna peacefully protecting Maunakea from desecration. The actions from that day sparked an international outcry and brought new life to the ongoing movement for Native Hawaiians’ rights for self-determination.
Like a Mighty Wave
The unknown story behind the Native Hawaiian singer whose cover medley "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" is known around the world.
IZ
An exploration into the creative process, following Native Hawaiian slam poet Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio, as her art is reinvigorated by her calling to protect sacred sites atop Maunakea, Hawai`i.
This Is the Way We Rise
On the Morning You Wake uses innovative documentary storytelling and virtual production techniques to viscerally recreate the lived experiences of people who, for 38 minutes, had to react and make impossible decisions in the face of nuclear violence.