Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native American civil rights activist who rejected Marlon Brando’s Oscar on 1973 passed away on Sunday, October 2 after fighting breast cancer. Her family reported that she was accompanied by her loved ones at her home. The activist was 75 years old.
She became known after attending the 45th Academy Awards ceremony on behalf of actor Marlon Brando, who won the Best Actor award for Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather. Brando asked Littlefeather to decline the award and read a 15 pages speech he wrote. This action was a protest towards how native American people were portrayed and exploited by the film industry. Brando gave Littlefeather the space of the ceremony to draw attention to these issues since she was a Native American activist he knew personally. The action received mixed reactions from the audience at the time and Littlefeather was allowed to speak only for 60 seconds, then she was escorted out from the ceremony. Action that confirmed what she was standing for. She could read the full speech later in a press conference.
In the last years the Academy Awards ceremony has become a space that allows these kinds of political acts, however it took the Academy a long time to make things right towards Littlefeather. After 49 years the Academy decided to offer her an apology this June. An excerpt of the written statement by David Rubin said:
“The abuse you endured because of this statement was unwarranted and unjustified. The emotional burden you have lived through and the cost to your own career in our industry are irreparable. For too long the courage you showed has been unacknowledged. For this, we offer both our deepest apologies and our sincere admiration.”
There was a presentation of the apology at the Academy Museum on September 17 where the activist could attend. She was happy about finally getting an apology and stated with humor that she was patient.
Littlefeather was an actress and had a few small roles in films. She declared that she was blacklisted by Hollywood after the Academy Awards’ incident and it was harder to get roles after. She dedicated her life to activism, worked in theater and healthcare.
Times have changed slowly and more communities are being represented in films and TV, activists as Sacheen Littlefeather have made this better world possible.
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