Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native American actress who took the Oscars stage in 1973 to decline Marlon Brando’s award, has died.
The Academy of Motion Pictures announced the sad news after the actress passed away at age 75. She had been suffering from breast cancer.
“Sacheen Littlefeather, Native American civil rights activist who famously declined Marlon Brando’s 1973 Best Actor Academy Award, dies at 75,” the Academy tweeted.
After one of the most iconic performances in film history, c
After receiving huge acclaim for his role at Vito Corleone in The Godfather, Brando's award came as no surprise, but he sent Native American civil rights activist Sacheen Littlefeather to accept the award in his place.
Brando cited the treatment of Native Americans by the film industry as the reason for turning down the award in a statement, as Littlefeather, who was just 26 at the time, was audibly booed on stage.
She said: “He very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award. And the reasons for this being are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry… and on television in movie re-runs, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee.”
Brando wrote for Sacheen to read out: "The motion picture community has been as responsible as any for degrading the Indian and making a mockery of his character, describing him as savage, hostile and evil."
She later claimed that actor John Wayne had to be held back by security guards backstage from assaulting her, and other individuals backstage made offensive gestures, according to reports at the time.
She recently recalled that John Wayne “was in the wings and wanted to storm onto the stage and drag me off.”
She was blacklisted by Hollywood after the ceremony.
The Native American activist died on Sunday, less than two months after the Academy apologised over her treatment at the 1973 Academy Awards.
In August, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued a formal apology to Littlefeather over her treatment.
“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,” it said.
Littlefeather responded: “Regarding the Academy’s apology to me, we Indians are very patient people – it’s only been 50 years! We need to keep our sense of humour about this at all times. It’s our method of survival.”
A statement from her caretaker said she died at noon on Sunday at her home in the Northern California city of Novato, surrounded by her loved ones.
The actress appeared in a documentary titled Sacheen: Breaking The Silence earlier this year where she revealed she was “blacklisted” by Hollywood following the political stunt.
“It was the first time anyone had made a political statement at the Oscars,” Littlefeather said in the documentary. “It was the first Oscars ceremony to be broadcast by satellite all over the world, which is why Marlon chose it. I didn’t have an evening dress so Marlon told me to wear my buckskin.”
In the same interview, Littlefeather – then an elder, teaching cultural knowledge to younger Native American people – revealed she was “very, very ill” with breast cancer.
“I’ve been on chemotherapy for quite some time, and daily antibiotics. As a result, my memory is not as good as it used to be,” she said. “I’m very tired all the time because cancer is a full-time job: the CT scans, MRIs, laboratory blood work, medical visits, chemotherapy, infectious disease control doctors, etc, etc. If you’re lazy, you need not apply for cancer.”
Speaking of death, she said: “I’m going to another place. I’m going to the world of my ancestors. I’m saying goodbye to you … I’ve earned the right to be my true self.”
