Akamine was an advocate for Indigenous land rights, using her artwork to bring attention to the colonial invasion of Hawaii and its continued effects on the native Hawaiian population.

Bernice Ann Keolamauloaonalani (Miyamoto) Akamine was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on December 1, 1949.

[3] Akamine's grandmother was a kahuna lāʻau lapaʻau, a traditional Hawaiian healer, and her mother, Audrey Elliott, was a lauhala weaver.

[4] She is a kumu (expert teacher) of the methods of creating and using waiho‘olu‘u (natural plant dyes).

[10] She has also created contemporary baskets inspired by traditional symbols of Hawaiian nobility, using the feathers of small birds.