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Osiyo, Voices of the Cherokee People is a groundbreaking series inviting you to discover the rich traditions and compelling modern advancements of the Cherokee people told through a documentary lens. The edutainment show features the people, places, history, language and culture of the Cherokee Nation, the largest federally recognized tribe in the US with more than 450,000 citizens. Cherokee culture comes alive through 30-minute episodes featuring topics like ceremonial turtle shell shakers, buffalo grass dolls and basket weaving. Come along for adventures as we present the exciting lives of Cherokee people today, taking you along with a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter pilot, scuba diving with wounded warriors, and traversing the wilderness in search of Cherokee Bigfoot. They are Cherokee stories, told by Cherokee people.
Sharing the authentic values, beliefs and what it means to be Cherokee preserves our tribe’s traditions and culture and shows the world who we really are, while empowering new generations of Cherokees to keep moving forward.
Cherokee Nation has its own unique history that, many times, is not taught in schools or in history books. Each historical story presented on OsiyoTV is factual and based on cultural, historic and academic research.
Language is intrinsic to expressing culture. From identity to tradition, learning the Cherokee language is a great way to be involved in the unique culture of our tribe.
We have been nominated for more than 30 Heartland Emmys and have won 16 of these awards.
We have won numerous Telly awards for directing, writing, production and more.
Many of our individual short documentaries have been featured and won awards in film festivals around the world.
Osiyo, Voices of the Cherokee People was created in 2014 after Cherokee Nation citizens voiced their desire to share the tribe’s stories on a larger stage. The original creators were Amanda Clinton, Jennifer Loren, Jeremy Charles and Sterlin Harjo. Deciding that the tribe’s stories were best presented in documentary format, the team created a magazine-style show, featuring short documentaries, “beauty shots” from around the tribal jurisdiction, a Cherokee Almanac and a language lesson. Hosted by Cherokee Nation citizen and Emmy-winning journalist Jennifer Loren, the show was the first of its kind in Indian Country and has been highly acclaimed since its inception.
Jennifer Loren is an Emmy-award winning filmmaker and the director of Cherokee Nation Film Office. Evolving from an investigative reporter and producer to a documentarian and host, she has been in the television and film industries since 2001. Jennifer started her career in television news where she moved around the country as an anchor, producer and investigative reporter, ultimately landing at home in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 2014, she joined Cherokee Nation Businesses where she co-created the highly acclaimed documentary-style show Osiyo, Voices of the Cherokee People. Jennifer is the executive producer, host and show-runner of the docuseries, which is often called OsiyoTV. She also produces and directs many of the short documentaries in the show. A proud citizen of the Cherokee Nation, Jennifer is humbled and thrilled to share her tribe’s stories with the world.
In 2019, Jennifer helped to create and roll out the Cherokee Nation Film Office and now serves as its director. A first-of-its kind endeavor by a tribal nation, the mission of the Cherokee Nation Film Office is to increase the presence of Native Americans in every level of the film and television industries, while creating opportunities for economic development and jobs in the Cherokee Nation. Also in 2019, she was named a Woman of the Year, Pinnacle Award winner by the Tulsa Mayor’s Commission on the Status of Women and the Tulsa YWCA.
Jennifer has been nominated for more than 30 Emmy awards and has been awarded ten of those; nine as Executive Producer and Host of Osiyo, Voices of the Cherokee People and one for investigative news coverage in 2012. Jennifer has won several AVA Digital Gold and Telly Awards, also for her work on OsiyoTV, and the show has been the recipient of several other awards, including the Association for Women in Communications’ 2016 and 2017 Clarion Awards. During her time in news, Jennifer won several awards for investigative reporting, including a Society of Environmental Journalists’ award and the prestigious Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists’ First Amendment Award. While all of the accolades are validating, Jennifer says the most rewarding part of her job is working with and learning from citizens of the Cherokee Nation.
Jennifer’s favorite job of all is as a wife and mother. She has two daughters who keep her busy with after school activities and Jennifer volunteers with their PTA and school foundations, and serves on multiple other Boards in the Tulsa and Oklahoma communities. Jennifer is a graduate of the Gaylord College of Journalism at the University of Oklahoma and an active member of the Native American Journalists Association and Society of Environmental Journalists.
Jeremy Charles is a writer/director/producer/cinematographer and leader of FireThief Productions, a Cherokee-owned film production company. Beginning his career as graphic designer and freelance writer, Jeremy spent a decade as a photographer recognized for his bold portraiture and work in the music scene. He has been proud to lend his eye and expertise to Cherokee Nation projects for the past 15 years.
Since answering the call of filmmaking, Jeremy has filled nearly every role in production in hundreds of short docs, narrative shorts, branded content and music videos. He is a co-creator, producer and director for “Osiyo, Voices of the Cherokee People” which has earned five regional Emmys, and he was awarded Best Director in 2017 for the documentary short “Singing Tradition”. His direction of the music video for ‘Everybody Needs’ by Branjae earned Judge’s Choice Graphex award in 2018, and his films have been selected for numerous film festivals.
Creating content for Cherokee Nation is a lifetime commitment for Jeremy. This work includes a pilot for an original animated series in Cherokee language “Inage’i (In The Woods)” and narrative short “Totsu (Redbird)”, also in Cherokee language. Jeremy is currently developing a supernatural crime series based in Cherokee culture, narrative feature films, and documentary series.
You can learn more about his work and FireThief Productions at www.firethiefpro.com.
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