LOS ANGELES — 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,” has died. She was 75.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the news on its social media accounts Sunday night. In an email to The Times, Littlefeather’s family confirmed her death, saying she died peacefully, surrounded by loved ones at her Marin County home.
In one of the most famous moments in Oscar history, Littlefeather took the stage at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on March 27, 1973, after Brando’s name was read as the winner. Wearing a fringed buckskin dress and moccasins, Littlefeather refused to take the Oscar proffered by presenter Roger Moore. She firmly offered Brando’s regrets, explaining he would not accept the Oscar because of Hollywood’s mistreatment of Native Americans and the standoff at Wounded Knee.
