Shifting Landscapes Film Screening: Aloha ‘Āina

For acclaimed poet Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio, creating a future for the next generation of Native Hawaiians calls for a return to an embodied, multidimensional understanding of Aloha Aina—“love for and of the land.”

When Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio was a teenager, slam poetry gave her both an outlet for her own experiences and a platform to educate growing audiences about the history of Hawaii’s colonization. Today, her poetry is focused on protecting sacred sites and working to create a future for the next generations of Native Hawaiians that’s rooted in an embodied understanding of Aloha Aina. Challenging linear and reductive conceptions of history, this film dismantles fantasies of Hawaii as a tourist’s playground, calling us instead toward a recognition of what’s possible when we live in loving relationship with the land, and with each other.

This screening will be followed by a facilitated discussion using the Engagement Guide provided by the filmmakers. Through spaces of reflection, discussion, and practice, the Guide offers ways to weave these stories with our own; to open a dialogue and share values within our community; and to cultivate a living connection with our landscape.