My name is Sacheen Littlefeather. Littlefeather passed away on Oct. 2 at the age of 75. After giving brief remarks and announcing the five nominees, they declared Brando as the winner. Littlefeather walked onto the stage and raised her hand to decline the Oscar trophy that Moore offered her. [97][98] She criticized the use of an Indian-themed mascot at Tomales High in 2001. [116][117] In 2009, she gave testimony in the documentary Reel Injun about Native Americans in film. In the statement, Littlefeather continues to claim to be Yaqui and White Mountain Apache. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. And the reasons for this being are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry, she said as the audience began to boo, and on television in movie reruns, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee.. Littlefeather died at her home in Novato, California, after a years-long battle with breast cancer, which eventually metastasized to her right lung. [78], Littlefeather credited the speech with bringing attention back to the situation at Wounded Knee,[57] though news coverage of the standoff at the time makes little mention of Littlefeather or Brando. [101] Although St. Mary's Hospital and Health Center did receive an Achievement Citation from the Catholic Health Association of the United States in 1986 for Traditional Indian Medicine's Role in the Carondelet Health System,[102] an article about the award only mentions the initiator of the program, Apache nurse Belinda Acosta, and the program coordinator, Ann Hubbert. And it's just insulting to my parents', "A Recent TV Slur Revives Debate About Sacheen Littlefeather and Her Role in Marlon Brando's Oscar Refusal", "4-H Home Ec Results Listed At Monterey County Fair", "DeSerpa Is Elected Hartnell Student V-P", "Sacheen Littlefeather: Fact Or Fiction? Want to advertise with us? Updated Oct. 2: Sacheen Littlefeather has died at the age of 75. Brando was also highly dissatisfied with the way Hollywood treated American Indians. [5][7] Both Geroldine and Manuel were saddlemakers. The 74-year-old is the subject of a new documentary titled "Sacheen: Breaking The Silence," which details the famous political speech and its aftermath. Tensions came to a head on the Oglala LakotaPine Ridge reservation in February 1973. (Bettmann via Getty Images). [15] In 1969, she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to pursue a modeling career with a portfolio of photos taken by Kenneth Cook of Cook's Photography. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images). Legal Statement. "I was ostracized everywhere I turned. [39] Looking back at the photo shoot, Littlefeather later said, "I was young and dumb. In 1964 during a fish-in, which was a protest to honor fishing rights on Puget Sound promised to Native American tribes, he was even arrested. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Fox News Flash top headlines are here. [24], In interviews, Littlefeather said she had a difficult childhood. The Alcatraz Island occupation was two years in the past by March of 1973. Check out what's clicking today in entertainment. And Brando had decided to cast the 26-year-old aspiring actress as his Oscars proxy to reject the award, denounce the negative stereotyping of American Indians in entertainment and bring attention to the Wounded Knee Occupation protest in South Dakota. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group), A 1957 snap shot of Geroldine Cruz shows her with her three daughters (l-r) Marie (who later become famous as Sacheen Littlefeather), Rosalind and Trudy during their days living in Salinas, Calif. (Photo courtesy Trudy Orlandi), Activist Sacheen Littlefeather (born Marie Louise Cruz, 1946 - 2022) attends teh Q&A at the SAG President's National Task Force For American Indians & NBC Universal Premiere Screening Of "Reel indian" & "American Indian Actors" At LA Skins Fest on November 20, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. But the next night, Orlandi watched on live TV as Sacheen stoically ascended the Oscars stage in a buckskin dress and told a global audience of 85 million that she was Apache. [5], Littlefeather joined the audience minutes before the award for Best Actor was announced. He'd also supported Native American causes for years. In a 1974 interview, she stated that her mother left her father when she was 4 and took her to live with her maternal grandparents. He clearly understood the effect that this had not only on adults but, in particular, children. The favorite to win, Brando boycotted the ceremony as a protest against Hollywood's portrayal of Native Americans and to draw attention to the standoff at Wounded Knee. [80], At The Comedy Awards in 2012, comedian Norm Macdonald staged a parody of the speech in accepting an award on behalf of Melissa McCarthy. [53] Before the ceremony, Brando decided thatas the favorite to win[52]he would boycott as a protest led by AIM against the ongoing siege at Wounded Knee and his views on how Native Americans were represented in American films. Littlefeather represented Marlon Brando at the 45th Academy Awards in 1973, where she - on Brando's behalf - declined the Best Actor award that he won for his performance in The Godfather. [28] She said her mother and two sisters were subject to their father's rage and beatings. The History of the American Indian Movement (AIM), Indian Citizenship Act: Granted Citizenship but Not Voting Rights, The Native American Ghost Dance, a Symbol of Defiance, Top 10 Classic Films With a Social Message, Indian Reorganization Act: A New Deal for American Indians, 5 Common Indigenous Stereotypes in Film and Television. Shortly after Littlefeather's death, Navajo writer and activist Jacqueline Keeler interviewed Littlefeather's two sisters, who say that their family is not Native American and that Littlefeather fabricated her Native American ancestry. Marlon Brando . Market data provided by Factset. [41] On March 6, 1973, she participated in a meeting between the Federal Communications Commission and members of several minority groups about the representation of minorities on television. [45] She continued to pursue acting opportunities, such as touring with the "Red Earth Theater Company". [20] She claims to have participated part-time in the occupation of Alcatraz in 1970, though this claim has been disputed. Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native American activist Marlon Brando sent to the 1973 Academy Awards to decline the lead actor Oscar he won for "The Godfather," died Sunday at age 75.. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal), Trudy Orlandi, with a 2nd grade portrait of her sister Maria Cruz, talks at her home in Marin County, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, about the woman who would later become famous as the Native American activist Sacheen Littlefeather. Sacheen Littlefeather stunned Hollywood when she was sent on behalf of Marlon Brando to reject his 1973 Oscar for best actor in "The Godfather." Nearly 50 years later, the Native American. The strange, sad tale of Sacheen Littlefeather: Did icon fake a Native American identity? [57] She also said that media reports published several falsehoods, such as that she was not Native American or had rented the outfit for the occasion. [56] In other retellings of that night, Littlefeather said Koch told her that she had 60 seconds to deliver the speech or else she would be removed from the stage and arrested. Entertainment | Geroldine learned the craft from Leo Leonard, who owned Leonard Saddle Company in Santa Barbara, and Manuel learned to make saddles as a boy in San Francisco. This Spring, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler Are Going on Tour Together, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds Welcome Their Fourth Child, Brendan Fraser Surprises Fans and Gets Warm Reception at a Screening of The Mummy. She had no legal recourse to contest their publication because she had signed a model release. The statement was read in full at An Evening with Sacheen Littlefeather on September 17, an event honoring Littlefeather and featuring a conversation between her and producer Bird Runningwater (Cheyenne/Mescalero Apache/N.M. My mom was a very sweet, kind person, Orlandi said. [85][86], She described the Academy's apology to her as "a dream come true", and said that "we Indians are very patient peopleit's only been 50 years!" "I later learned six security guards had to hold back John Wayne, who was in the wings and wanted to storm on the stage and drag me off," she claimed. When we think today about his words and what representation meansespecially to childrenone can't help but applaud his willingness to speak out in a time when it wasn't popular to do so. She wore a buckskin dress and moccasins. [89][90][91] In 1978, it was reported that Littlefeather would travel to Newfoundland with the Greenpeace Foundation to protest the Newfoundland seal hunt along with politicians and other show business personalities. [75] She later said that she visited Marlon Brando's house after the Academy Awards and bullets were fired into his front door while they were talking. [49][114][115] Littlefeather reported in 1991 that she was working on two shows for PBS, Remember Me Forever and The Americas Before Columbus, both scheduled for broadcast in 1992. After Liv Ullmann and Roger Moore announced that Marlon Brando won Best Actor for his performance as Vito Corleone in "The Godfather", Littlefeather surprised audiences by walking on stage in his place. "[83] Many years later, Littlefeather said that King called her to thank her for the speech. [4][5] She later said that she "learned early in life that there was probably a place for me in the dramatic art field, acting if you have a parent who's deaf, you naturally have to act out messages to them," referring to communicating with her father. Sacheen Littlefeather holds a written statement from actor Marlon Brando refusing his Best Actor Oscar on stage at the Academy Awards, Los Angeles, California. Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native American activist who declined Marlon Brando's Oscar for "The Godfather" has died. She delivered a short speech on behalf of Brando declining acceptance of the award. [1], Littlefeather died at her home in Novato, California, on October 2, 2022, at the age of 75. [70][7], The incident drew remarks from others at the same ceremony. All rights reserved. I'm representing Marlon Brando this evening, and he has asked me to tell you in a very long speech which I cannot share with you presently, because of time, but I will be glad to share with the press afterwards, that he very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award. ThoughtCo, Dec. 6, 2021, thoughtco.com/sacheen-littlefeather-academy-awards-2477981. Get Morning Report and other email newsletters, Sacheen Littlefeather was giddy as she hung up the phone in her San Francisco apartment in March of 1973. Meanwhile, the Vietnam War showed no end in sight despite massive protests. [50] In 2016, the 88th ceremony of the Academy Awards drew criticism for lack of diversity in nominations; actress Jada Pinkett Smith, who boycotted the ceremony, cited Littlefeather as inspiration to do so. Riveting new S.F. He instead sent Sacheen Littlefeather (born Marie Cruz), a young Apache/Yaqui activist who had participated in the Alcatraz Island occupation. Littlefeathers sisters say those claims are false. ", Sacheen Littlefeather is the subject of a new documentary titled 'Sacheen: Breaking The Silence.' [47] An account from the night of the Oscar ceremony describes Francis Ford Coppola observing Littlefeather on a TV monitor backstage and stating "Sacheen Littlefeather. Sacheen Littlefeather holds a written statement from actor Marlon Brando refusing his Best Actor Oscar on stage at the Academy Awards, Los Angeles, California. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. VisitMy Modern Met Media. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. She continued her activism for Native American issues including healthcare and unemployment, and produced films about Native Americans. She was 75. "[72][71] Michael Caine, the night's co-host, criticized Brando for "letting some poor little Indian girl take the boos" instead of "[standing] up and [doing] it himself". [119] She participated in events commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Occupation of Alcatraz, including serving as head pow wow judge. [123], Littlefeather studied orthomolecular nutrition and later said that she had "wanted to see where all the 'white' food came from" so she went to Sweden and lived in Stockholm. [2][3] Although some of her distant family may have been born in Pima/Oodham tribal territory in Sonora, Mexico, scholars have stated that actual tribal members in these communities would have been a minority during the time. Littlefeather represented Marlon Brando at the 45th Academy Awards in 1973, where she on Brando's behalf declined the Best Actor award that he won for his performance in The Godfather. En marzo de 1973 la actriz y activista indgena Sacheen Littlefeather se present en la gala de los Premios scar y declin sostener la estatuilla que haba ganado Marlon Brando por su papel de Vito Corleone en El Padrino . [23] Later, though, Littlefeather said she was blacklisted by the Hollywood community and received threats. [42] In an interview published just before her Academy Awards appearance, she stated that she had helped send two Indian nurses to Wounded Knee and that she had relinquished her United States citizenship, along with seven Native Americans. It's our method of survival. Native American people were in the bottom strata of all socioeconomic indicators, and it was clear to American Indian youth that change was not going to happen without dramatic action. [122], In 1973, Littlefeather was married to engineer Michael Rubio. Stephanie Nolasco covers entertainment at Foxnews.com. Geroldine Cruz was not a battered wife or mentally ill, and their hearing-impaired father never touched alcohol or abused his children. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images), "The abuse you endured because of this statement was unwarranted and unjustified," David Rubin, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, wrote to Littefeather. [84], In June 2022, the Academy sent Littlefeather a statement of apology, in which the organization's then-president David Rubin wrote: "The abuse you endured because of this statement was unwarranted and unjustified. [54] Producer Howard W. Koch, she later said, told her "you can't read all that" in reference to the 739-word speech written by Brando,[55] so she condensed it all into 60 seconds. At the time, Littlefeather, president of the National Native American Affirmative Image Committee, said the actor could not accept the award because "of the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry and on television in movie reruns.". [40] As a spokesperson for the National American Indian Council, she protested President Richard Nixon's budget cuts to federal Indian programs in February 1973. Liv Ullmann and. However, Littlefeather claimed she felt "abandoned" by Brando when she was faced withthe intense backlash. [63][64][65][66][67] This claim has since been disputed by film historian Farran Nehme and biographer Scott Eyman. Keeler is known for her aggressive efforts to out alleged Pretendians, people who falsely claim to be Native American. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. The registry was founded in the early 1980s by Muscogee actor Will Sampson, who worked with the American Native Association to publish a directory of American Indians in the arts and entertainment fields. [6], Littlefeather attended North Salinas High School from 1960 to 1964 and was active in 4-H, winning awards in home economics categories such as food preservation and fashion. She was 75 years old.. Things did not go quite as planned. "He very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award," she said , citing "the treatment of American Indians today" by the film and television industry. According to Littlefeather, she could "hear the boos and jeers" as she came on stage. Market data provided by Factset. [2][3] Furthermore, Cruz says Littlefeather fabricated a Native identity because she thought it was more "prestigious" to be Native American than to be Hispanic. At the time of the Oscars, she had known Brando for nearly a year. Actress and activist Sacheen Littlefeatherwho carried out Marlon Brando's protest against the treatment and portrayal of Native Americans at the 1973 Oscarshas died at the age of 75.. According to Littlefeather, the institution was a "hell hole" and doctors used what she said was "psychodrama," role-playing her parents "while black-hooded figures listened in a dim-lit room" to help her "reconstruct memories of childhood abuse and abandonment. [133] However, on her official website, a response to Ebert's article contradicts the lawyer and states that she was born Marie Cruz. As Brando clearly explained to Dick Cavett, while he understood that not everyone would share his opinion, he wished that they would take the time to listen to what Littlfeather had to say. The actress, who had breast cancer, died on Sunday . Sacheen Littlefeather stunned Hollywood when she was sent on behalf of Marlon Brando to reject his 1973 Oscar for best actor in "The Godfather." [134], "Littlefeather" redirects here. Jessica Stewart is a Contributing Writer and Digital Media Specialist for My Modern Met, as well as a curator and art historian. In one of her first interviews after the speech, she mentioned that they met "through his interest in the Indian movement". "It was the first time anyone had made a political statement at the Oscars," Littlefeather said in the documentary, as quoted by the outlet. Littlefeather was a budding model and actress, and she agreed to represent him. [62] Oscars producer Koch and director Marty Pasetta both later recalled that John Wayne was waiting in the wings and had to be restrained by six security guards to prevent him from forcing her off stage. Littlefeather has long been an accepted and highly respected member of the Native American community despite lingering speculation about her identity. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts. [Brando] very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award. She spent a year in Agnews Insane Asylum in Santa Claraand was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, which can include mood swings, hallucinations and delusions. Entertainment | LaNada War Jack, one of the student organizers of the 19-month-long Native American occupation of Alcatraz that started in 1969, told this news organization: We applauded her when she spoke at the Oscars but we knew she wasnt Native.. [37][112] Obituaries for Littlefeather's father and maternal grandmother do not mention a biological son in the family, only Littlefeather and her two younger sisters. Sacheen Littlefeathers work on famed San Francisco ballet among suspect claims AIMcame about thanks to Native American college students in the cities and activists on the reservations who understood all too well that the conditions they were living under were a result of oppressive government policies. [79], In 2015, Littlefeather reported that her name and image were being used fraudulently to raise money claimed to be for the Lakota nation. Attempts were made at non-violent protests the Alcatraz occupation was completely nonviolent although it lasted well over a year but there were times when violence seemed like the only way to bring attention to the problem. Sacheen Littlefeather, the activist for Native Americans who declined Marlon Brando's Oscar for "The Godfather" on his behalf at the 1973 Academy Awards, died Sunday at 75, the Ac This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, (AP Photo/File), Sacheen Littlefeather (born Marie Louise Cruz, 1946 - 2022) on stage at AMPAS Presents An Evening with Sacheen Littlefeather at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on September 17, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. She graduated from Northwestern University with a BA degree in German studies and from Mills College with a MFA degree in creative writing and English. However, Littlefeather admitted that the praise was bittersweet. Marlon Brando had a long history of supporting various social movements dating back to at least 1946 when he backed the Zionist movement for a Jewish homeland. Gilio-Whitaker, Dina. After the Academy Award speech, Littlefeather worked in hospice care. Some of Littlefeathers claims about aiding Native American organizations can be verified. "Brando, Littlefeather, and the Academy Awards." [109][110] She campaigned against obesity, alcoholism, and diabetes, and specifically assisted Native Americans with AIDS. ThoughtCo. In an email to The Times, Littlefeather's family confirmed her death, saying she died peacefully, surrounded by . At the 1973 Academy Awards, Sacheen Littlefeather refused the Academy Award for Best Actor on behalf of Marlon Brando who won for his role in The Godfather. Her research, which included records going back to 1850, uncovered no ties between the Cruz family of Mexico and the White Mountain Apache and Yaqui tribes. Image of Sacheen Littlefeather standing before an Oscar statue holding Marlon Brando's statement at the 45th annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles, California, 1973. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sacheen_Littlefeather&oldid=1140269831, This page was last edited on 19 February 2023, at 08:33. [43], In 1975, Littlefeather reported that she was working on a movie script about Edward S. Curtis with Cap Weinberger, Jr, who had written an article about Curtis for Smithsonian magazine. Academy Apologizes to Sacheen Littlefeather for 'Mistreatment' Upon Turning Down Marlon Brando's Oscar Littlefeather was asked by Best Actor winner Brando to turn down the award in 1973. Legal Statement. [5] In an interview after her Academy Awards appearance, Fortunate Eagle confirmed that Littlefeather had supported the protest at Alcatraz;[22] According to Keeler's 2022 article published after Littlefeather's death, activist LaNada War Jack, who was at Alcatraz, said Littlefeather was not there. [5][101] In 1991, Littlefeather was reported to be recovering from radical cancer surgery. [27] Littlefeather participated in events related to a year-long celebration of the Americas before Columbus, but there is no record of a PBS show by either name being broadcast in 1992. All rights reserved. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images), Sacheen Littlefeather laughs while chatting with Museum of the American Indian interim executive director Victoria Canby at the museum in Novato, Calif. on Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2020. Marlon Brando on The Dick Cavett Show in 1973 (Photo: Sipuede7 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0). Brando would later tell talk show host Dick Cavett that the Academy didn't want her there and didn't want the evening interrupted with that particular note. In fact, just minutes before the award was handed out, show producer Howard Koch had told Littlefeather that she needed to keep her comments to 60 seconds. [56][57][58] Koch recalled that he permitted her to stay and make her speech after she promised not to make a scene. "I was blacklisted or, you could say, redlisted," she explained. Sacheen Littlefeather, who famously took to the stage when Marlon Brando won an Oscar for The Godfather to decline the award, has died at the age of 75. (Photo by Valerie Macon/Getty Images), LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 20: Activist Sacheen Littlefeather (L) and producer of the movie Christina Fon (R) attend the Q&A at the SAG President's National Task Force For American Indians & NBC Universal Premiere Screening Of "Reel indian" & "American Indian Actors" At LA Skins Fest on November 20, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. At the time, Brando was a top Hollywood supporter of the American Indian Movement and acquainted with Littlefeather through her neighbor, Francis Ford Coppola. Littlefeather was a budding model and actress, and she agreed to represent him. And while Brando's motives weren't fully appreciated at the time, today it's clear that he was ahead of his time. Sacheen Littlefeather fue la primera mujer nativa americana en subir al escenario de los scar. [7] She said in a 2021 interview that the cancer had metastasized to her right lung and that she was terminal. And White Mountain Apache? In his original speech as printed by the New York Times, Brando said: True to his political sensibilities, Brando also minced no words about America's treatment of American Indians: Sacheen Littlefeather received phone calls from Coretta Scott King and Cesar Chavez as a result of her intervention at the Academy Awards, congratulating her for what she'd done.