Wearing a buckskin dress and moccasins, Sacheen Littlefeather sent shockwaves through Hollywood when she graced the stage at the 1973 Oscars ceremony. The first Native American woman to step onto the Academy Awards stage, she bravely delivered Marlon Brando's rejection statement.
He said he could not accept the best actor award for The Godfather because of "the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry". Sacheen, who was Apache and Yaqui, was heckled and booed.
She later said veteran western star John Wayne had to be restrained from physically assaulting her. Nearly 50 years later, the Academy apologised to her for the abuse she faced and held an event in her honour.
