In one of the most memorable moments in Oscars history, Littlefeather took the stage in his place and spoke out about Hollywood's negative treatment of Native Americans. She has previously reported or edited for Bay Area news and lifestyle publications, including Walnut Creek Patch, and Diablo, Oakland and Alameda magazines, as well as The Nation in Bangkok, Thailand and The Economist. Sacheen Littlefeather holds a written statement from actor Marlon Brando refusing his Best Actor Oscar on stage at the Academy Awards, Los Angeles, California. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group), Trudy Orlandi remembers her late sister Maria Cruz, the woman who would later become famous as Native American activist Sacheen Littlefeather, during an interview at her home in Marin County, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. Sacheen Littlefeather, the activist who famously stood in for Marlon Brando to refuse the best actor Oscar in 1973, faked Native American ancestry, her family have said. 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. [49][50], In a 2021 interview, Littlefeather said that she got to know Coppola while hiking the hills of San Francisco and she got Brando's address from him. 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. ), the co-chair of the Academy's Indigenous Alliance. or redistributed. "For too long the courage you showed has been unacknowledged. In that account, he called the radio station where she worked months after she sent the letter. [92] She served as an advisor to PBS's Dance in America: Song for Dead Warriors (1984), which earned its choreographer, Michael Smuin, an Emmy Award. [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. He had also participated in the March on Washington in 1963 and he supported the work of Dr. Martin Luther King. Legal Statement. Academy representatives have said the organization recognizes self-identification. But it has inserted a disclaimer at the start of a three-hour interview with Littlefeather, posted on its YouTube channel, that says oral histories should not be understood as statements of fact. In that interview, Littlefeather claims she was raised in poverty by an abusive alcoholic father and that she was abandoned by her parents who were too mentally ill to care for her. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. She's a friend of mine that I introduced to B She's an Indian princess. [2] According to Liza Black, an Associate Professor of history and Native American and Indigenous studies at Indiana University, and a citizen of Cherokee Nation, "Keeler proves Littlefeather was a troubled woman who made the stories of others her own". She spent a year in Agnews Insane Asylum in Santa Claraand was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, which can include mood swings, hallucinations and delusions. [44] She emceed an evening performance at the United National Indian Tribal Youth conference in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1976. How forward-thinking Brando's decision was and the bravery Littlefeather displayed has only been recently recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. [134], "Littlefeather" redirects here. Remembering Sacheen Littlefeather. Daily Question: In 1973, Sacheen Littlefeather declined an Oscar on which actor's behalf? [124][125][126][5] She stated that she wanted to travel in Europe to "see where the white people came from" just as people are "always going to reservations to see where the Indians came from". Gilio-Whitaker, Dina. She delivered a short speech on behalf of Brando declining acceptance of the award. To her, Sacheen was Marie Louise Cruz from Salinas, and they had a Mexican American father and White mother. [23] Later, though, Littlefeather said she was blacklisted by the Hollywood community and received threats. ThoughtCo, Dec. 6, 2021, thoughtco.com/sacheen-littlefeather-academy-awards-2477981. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! At the time of the Oscars, she had known Brando for nearly a year. [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. Marie Louise Cruz (November 14, 1946 October 2, 2022), better known as Sacheen Littlefeather, was an American actress, model, and activist on behalf of Native American civil rights. Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native American activist who declined Marlon Brando's Best Actor Oscar for him in a memorable 1973 speech, passed away on Sunday. [76], According to Ann Brebner of the Brebner Agency, which handled Littlefeather's modeling bookings, she was deluged with mail and phone calls after her Oscars appearance, which led to radio and television appearances as well as the opportunity to read for several film roles. [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. Sacheen Littlefeather refuses to accept the Best Actor Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brando for his performance in "The Godfather" at the 45th annual Academy Awards in 1973. Orlandi grew up with her sister Maria Cruz, the woman who would later become famous as Native American activist Sacheen Littlefeather. (2021, December 6). Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native American activist and actress who famously declined an Oscar on behalf of actor Marlon Brando at the 45th Academy Awards, has died at 75, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Sunday. All rights reserved. Littlefeathers sisters say those claims are false. The activist, who also worked as an actress, changed her name from Marie Louise Cruz to Sacheen Littlefeather after rediscovering her Native American heritage and becoming active in protests as a young woman. [130][131], Following Littlefeather's death, Navajo author Jacqueline Keeler interviewed Littlefeather's biological sisters Rosalind Cruz and Trudy Orlandi, who say their family did not have Native American ancestry. https://www.thoughtco.com/sacheen-littlefeather-academy-awards-2477981 (accessed March 4, 2023). And the reasons for this being are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industryexcuse me [booing and applause] and on television in movie re-runs, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee. 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. Since Littlefeathers death in Novato on Oct. 2 at age 75, Orlandi, 72, and another sister, Rosalind Cruz, 65, have ignited an uproar in Native American circles by alleging their estranged activist sister spent 50 years faking an identity as White Mountain Apache and Yaqui. [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. Sacheen Littlefeather is the subject of a new documentary titled 'Sacheen: Breaking The Silence. Sacheen Littlefeather died Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022, at her home in Marin County, Calif. She was 75. "[Brando] very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award. [27] During a 1976 television interview she described her father as abusive. Sacheen Littlefeather at the 1973 Oscars (Photo: UCLA Library Special Collections, CC BY 2.0). Meanwhile, the Vietnam War showed no end in sight despite massive protests. Sacheen Littlefeather gets apology for abuse by John Wayne, others at 1973 Oscars. 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. [63][64][65][66][67] This claim has since been disputed by film historian Farran Nehme and biographer Scott Eyman. Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native American actress and activist who made history when she declined the Best Actor Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brando, has died at the age of 75. 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. [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. She was accompanied by Brando's secretary, Alice Marchak, and wore an Apache buckskin dress. Two weeks before her death, the Academy honored her at an event called "An Evening with Sacheen Littlefeather." Entertainment | Tensions came to a head on the Oglala LakotaPine Ridge reservation in February 1973. "[86], Littlefeather was described as a founding member of the Red Earth Indian Theater Company in Seattle when awarded an Eagle Spirit Award (Honorary) at the 2013 American Indian Film Festival. 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. (Photo by Beck Starr/FilmMagic/Getty Images). Later that night, before she announced the Best Actress winner, Raquel Welch said, "I hope the winner doesn't have a cause. He instead sent Sacheen Littlefeather (born Marie Cruz), a young Apache/Yaqui activist who had participated in the Alcatraz Island occupation. [27] A 1999 article stated she had developed colon cancer in the early 1990s. Get the best of Fox News' entertainment coverage, right in your inbox. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group), Chief Phillip Whiteman Jr., Rebecca Brando, Sacheen Littlefeather (born Marie Louise Cruz, 1946 - 2022) and Christian Bale attend the Red Nation Film Festival And Awards Ceremony at Laemmle's Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre on November 15, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. "I was a spokesperson, so to speak, for the stereotype of Native Americans in film and television," she later said. The Alcatraz Island occupation was two years in the past by March of 1973. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 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. Marlon Brando . [132], Roger Ebert had disputed Littlefeather's Native American ethnicity in 2004 in an obituary for Marlon Brando, stating that after her attendance at the Oscars she was "identified as Maria Cruz, an actress who was not an Indian". [38] "I was distressed that people should have booed and whistled and stomped, even though perhaps it was directed at myself," Brando later told Dick Cavett. [56] In 1974, she stated that Marlon Brando sent her to a doctor when she was in a lot of pain and helped her recover, so she made the Oscar speech to repay him. Riveting new S.F. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/sacheen-littlefeather-academy-awards-2477981. At the time, Brando was a top Hollywood supporter of the American Indian Movement and acquainted with Littlefeather through her neighbor, Francis Ford Coppola. She was 75 years old. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. [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. Liv Ullmann and. [93][94], As a staff member of the American Indian Center, Littlefeather participated in a conference about American Indians in media at the Hotel San Franciscan in 1978. The Pascua Yaqui tribe in Arizona told this news organization that Littlefeather wasnt enrolled, while the White Mountain Apache hasnt responded to media inquiries about her membership. He had actually written a 15-page speech explaining his reasons, but Littlefeather later said that she had been threatened with arrest if she attempted to read the entire speech. [81][82], Coretta Scott King commended Brando for his non-violent stand, stating, "It is gratifying to see people in entertainment increasingly concerned about injustices in society and not just interested in making money. Russell Means contended that "Marlon Brando and Sacheen Littlefeather totally uplifted" the lives of those at Wounded Knee. [95] As the director of the First Nation Education Resource Center in San Francisco, Littlefeather commented on a letter from two American Indians in Oakland that was handed to Nelson Mandela, stating that the letter outlined problems facing American Indians, including healthcare and unemployment. He objected to the way Native Americans were represented in the movies. When Brando was announced as the best actor winner for his role in "The Godfather," Littlefeather took the stage to make a powerful and poignant statement about the depiction of Native . [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. 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. All rights reserved. Brando had written a much longer speech, but Littlefeather was instructed by the award ceremony's production team to keep the rejection to 60 seconds. Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native American civil rights activist best known for declining Marlon Brando's best actor Oscar for "The Godfather" in 1973, has died at the age of 75, the Academy of . 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. (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. [132] The Pascua Yaqui Tribe stated neither Littlefeather nor her parents were enrolled tribal members. Were also on Pinterest, Tumblr, and Flipboard. 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. "I beg at this time that I have not intruded on this evening, and that in the future our hearts and our understandings will meet with love and generosity," Littlefeather added as she rejected the Academy Awardfor Brando. [26] She characterized this as either being "adopted",[21] or in foster care. [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. Littlefeather died at her home in Novato, California, after a years-long battle with breast cancer, which eventually metastasized to her right lung. Sacheen Littlefeather holds a written statement from actor Marlon Brando refusing his Best Actor Oscar on stage at the Academy Awards, Los Angeles, California. Updated Oct. 2: Sacheen Littlefeather has died at the age of 75. I'm Apache and I am president of the National Native American Affirmative Image Committee. His theatrical training and instruction was carried out by Stella Adler, one of the most prestigious professors who developed Stanislavski's work in New York; some Saturdays he went to the Actor's Studio interested in Elia Kazan's classes. I beg at this time that I have not intruded upon this evening, and that we will in the future, our hearts and our understandings will meet with love and generosity. And the reasons for this being are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry excuse me and on television in movie reruns, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee," she said, referencing the Wounded Knee Occupation of 1973. "I was ostracized everywhere I turned. Not only did he refuse the Academy Award for Best Actor, which he won for his role as Don Vito Corleone, but he sent Sacheen Littlefeather to the ceremony in his place. [20][35], Playboy magazine planned a spread called "10 Little Indians" in 1972, and one of the models was Littlefeather, but the spread was cancelled. In an article in the San . Celebrating creativity and promoting a positive culture by spotlighting the best sides of humanityfrom the lighthearted and fun to the thought-provoking and enlightening. [61] Littlefeather stated in 2022 that some people mockingly used the tomahawk chop towards her as she was led by. 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. Brando, Littlefeather, and the Academy Awards. 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. Indian activists had taken over the Bureau of Indian Affairs building the year before and the siege of Wounded Knee was underway in South Dakota. Fox News Flash top entertainment and celebrity headlines are here. Few Academy Awards ceremonies have been as eventful as the one held in 1973, when Marlon Brando sent Native American activist Sacheen Littlefeather to explain why he was rejecting his award . Later, however, he became critical of Israel and supported the Palestinian cause. 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.. (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. 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. [120] Author Tommy Orange was commissioned by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's Open Space platform to write a piece called "Dear Marlon Brando" as part of the magazine Alcatraz Is Not an Island, commemorating the 50th anniversary. Littlefeather has long been an accepted and highly respected member of the Native American community despite lingering speculation about her identity. None of Littlefeathers relatives identified as Native American, Keeler said. Since 2020, she is also one of the co-hosts of the My Modern Met. Fox News Flash top headlines for October 2, Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves take bumpy second flight after 'CHAOS' on Lufthansa plane: 'Wish me luck', Kelsey Grammer wont apologize for the 'difference' that Jesus has made in his life, Person roaming in 'Scream' Ghostface costume prompts multiple police calls, Kelsea Ballerini kisses Chase Stokes after criticizing ex amid nasty divorce, Why Kevin Bacon refuses to share the secret to his 35-year marriage to Kyra Sedgwick. Bettmann via. 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.. Her . Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native American activist who declined Marlon Brando's Oscar for "The Godfather" has died. She famously rejected an Oscar on Marlon Brando's behalf in 1973 due, in part, to "the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry on television [and] in movie reruns," and was blacklisted by Hollywood as a result. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images), It was mortifying, said Cruz, of Lake County, Montana, of the Oscars appearance. [56][57][58] Koch recalled that he permitted her to stay and make her speech after she promised not to make a scene. Littlefeather, who just passed away on October 2, 2022 at age 75, was only 26 years old when she took the stage after Brando was announced as the winner of the Best Actor Award. Then, it wasn't Brando who mounted the stage, but a 26-year-old Native American activist named Sacheen Littlefeather. Entertainment | Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. [28] She said her mother and two sisters were subject to their father's rage and beatings. [7] She played a role in the mascot change at Tamalpais High School in the late 1980s, first becoming involved when she visited the high school as a guest director for the drama class play, "Grandmother Earth". [6][5][7] Littlefeather's father was Manuel Ybarra Cruz of Oxnard, California,[8] who Littlefeather identified as having White Mountain Apache and Yaqui ancestry. Her death came just weeks after she accepted a formal apology in person at a tribute in Los Angeles. Other claims appear to have been exaggerated or are simply false, including that she worked with Mother Teresa on AIDS patients, that she participated in the Native American protest/occupation at Alcatraz and that John Wayne tried to attack her at her Oscars appearance. 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. When Brando was announced as the winner, Littlefeather took the stage dressed in full native regalia. Sacheen Littlefeathers work on famed San Francisco ballet among suspect claims It took nearly 50 years, but in June 2022 they issued a formal apology to Littlefeather and on September 17 an event was held in her honor at the Academy Museum. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Market data provided by Factset. VisitMy Modern Met Media. Brando was also highly dissatisfied with the way Hollywood treated American Indians. This guy cannot protect himself or his name or his reputation.. 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.. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images). Littlefeather and a handful of other Native American women had posed for Playboy in 1972, but the photos were never been published until October 1973, not long after the Academy Awards incident. [5][37] Littlefeather was personally criticized for what was seen as exploitation of her fame,[38] but she explained that it was "strictly a business agreement" to earn the money needed to attend the World Theater Festival in Nancy, France. 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. [9][8] Geroldine Cruz continued to operate the business after her husband's death in 1966. 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. 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. In an email to The Times, Littlefeather's family confirmed her death, saying she died peacefully, surrounded by . [116][117] In 2009, she gave testimony in the documentary Reel Injun about Native Americans in film. [122], In 1973, Littlefeather was married to engineer Michael Rubio. [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!" The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the news on its social media accounts. FILE - Sacheen Littlefeather, a Native American activist, tells the audience at the Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, March 27, 1973, that Marlon Brando was declining to accept his Oscar as best actor for his role in "The Godfather." She wore a buckskin dress and moccasins. [77] In the years immediately following the protest, Littlefeather said that it had "had little effect on the course of her career". [1][127] She stated that she was suicidal and hospitalized in a mental institution for a year. The social turbulence of the 1970s was a time of much-needed change in Indian country. Deviating from the prepared speech, she said the following:[60], Hello. The emotional burden you have lived through and the cost to your own career in our industry are irreparable. Its one of the biggest hoaxes certainly the biggest hoax since Iron Eyes Cody, said Dina Gilio-Whitaker, a Cal State San Marcos lecturer of American Indian Studies who was commissioned at one point to ghostwrite Littlefeathers memoir. All rights reserved. [108] Around this same time period, Littlefeather worked at the Gift of Love AIDS hospice in San Francisco, which was founded in 1988 by Mother Teresa, and had the opportunity to meet Mother Teresa during at least one of her five visits to the facility before her death in 1997. [73][100], A 1987 profile of Littlefeather stated that she was a recipient of the 1986 Traditional Indian Medicine Achievement Award for her participation in the Traditional Indian Medicine Program at St. Mary's Hospital in Tucson, Arizona. [15], While she attended California State College at Hayward (now California State University, East Bay) and studied dramatics and speech, she continued to cultivate a Native American identity.