[59], Littlefeather died at her home in Novato, California, on October 2, 2022, at the age of 75. [12][118], In a 1991 article, Littlefeather was credited with co-founding the American Indian Registry for Performing Arts. With the support of its Indigenous Alliance an Academy member affinity group the Academy recognizes self-identification.. [91][92], 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. [139] Historians and activists say the allegations should "prompt the Academy to investigate and determine whether it should amend its presentation of Littlefeather in its gallery spaces or in podcast and video interviews posted on its official channel". Eventually, Coppola gave it to her. In fact, Brando prepared an eight-page speech for Littlefeather to deliver and instructed her not to touch the Oscar. [59][60][4] 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,[61] so she condensed it all into 60 seconds. Click [30] In 1988, she stated that her parents lived next door to her maternal grandparents, Marie and Gerold "Barney" Barnitz, while she and her two younger sisters lived with those grandparents. He had a great sense of humour. We never really knew her until Oscar night. Transcript Actor and activist Sacheen Littlefeather, best known for declining Marlon Brando's 1973 Oscar to protest Hollywood's treatment of Native Americans, has died at the age of 75. La Tray claimed that identity for himself even though he wasnt raised in a tribal community. My name is Sacheen Littlefeather. John Wayne (left) and . [8] She said she chose the name Sacheen because that was the name her father called her before he died, and Littlefeather came from the feather she always wore in her hair. The acceptance of my dominant cultures ways and my Indian ways together, living peacefully side by side., Now she is one of the elders transmitting knowledge down generations. - She travelled around the country, between camp-outs and pow-wows, learning traditions and dances, making outfits. note: When Ms. Littlefeather approaches the podium, she refuses to take the Oscar statuette being offered to her by presenter Roger Moore. [18][19], Littlefeather said that around age 19, she spent a year in a psychiatric hospital after previously hearing voices that pushed her to a suicide attempt, recounting what happened during a three hour visual history interview in 2022 with the director of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Sacheen Littlefeather says John Wayne is responsible for the 'most violent moment' in Oscars history. [67] Littlefeather stated in 2022 that some people mockingly used the tomahawk chop towards her as she was led by. Today they are almost expected, but in 1973 it was radical. In fact, Cruz said her family didnt previously raise concerns about Littlefeathers claims because they assumed she wasnt hurting anybody.. (The . Littlefeather walked onto the stage and raised her hand to decline the Oscar trophy that Moore offered her. The Indigenous actor and civil rights activist said that the Western film star attempted to physically assault her after her speech at the 1973 Academy Awards ceremony. [62], At the age of 29 her lungs collapsed. And the reasons for this being are the treatement of American Indians today by the film industry (rumbling in audience) excuse me (boos exceeded by applause) and on television, in movie reruns, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee. In 1973, she made history at the Academy Awards, appearing in place of Marlon Brando, declining his statuette and making a speech about Native American rights. . [28] Later accounts describe Coppola as Littlefeather's neighbor in San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. who is co-chair of the Academys Indigenous Alliance. Terms of Use / Privacy Policy / Manage Newsletters, - SACHEEN LITTLEFEATHER: Though she didn't receive the respect she deserved for the majority of her years, it goes without saying Littlefeather's legacy as an activist will live on forever. During my presentation, he was coming towards me to forcibly take me off the stage, and he had to be restrained by six security men to prevent him from doing so. Presenting best picture soon after (also for The Godfather), Clint Eastwood quipped: I dont know if I should present this award on behalf of all the cowboys shot in all the John Ford westerns over the years. When Littlefeather got backstage, she says, there were people making stereotypical Native American war cries at her and miming chopping with a tomahawk. But in a timed 60-second acceptance speech for Marlon Brando's Godfather Oscar, she quickly rose to fame with a legendary speech about how Native Americans are treated in Hollywood. Thank you for your kindness and your courtesy to Miss Littlefeather. She appeared on live TV in 1973 to refuse an Oscar on . I was called the N-word. When she was 12, she and her grandfather visited the historic Roman Catholic church Carmel Mission, where she was horrified to see the bones of a Native American person on display in the museum. He had to be restrained by six security guards. And maybe that was the love-hate relationship that he had with acting., Littlefeathers Oscar speech drew international attention to Wounded Knee, where the US authorities had essentially imposed a media blackout. Keeler searched records of Littlefeather's family going back to 1850 and did not find evidence of Native ancestry. In June 2022, the Academy sent Littlefeather a statement of apology that was read in full at An Evening with Sacheen Littlefeather on September 17, two weeks before her death. Vincent Schilling, Akwesasne Mohawk, is the founder and editor of Native Viewpoint. Wounded Knee. Here's the transcript of her speech: Hello. [59][132] She stated that she was suicidal and hospitalized in a mental institution for a year. Sacheen Littlefeather - Wikipedia It was more prestigious to be an American Indian than it was to be Hispanic in her mind, Ms. Orlandi told the Chronicle. At 74, she has lived a full, eventful life, though she will be for ever remembered for an event that took up little more than one minute of it, on the night of 27 March 1973. According to Entertainment Tonight, she passed away on Sunday, Oct. 2, in Novato, Calif. [4][5] Although some of Cruz's/Littlefeather's 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. [32] A 1999 article stated she had developed colon cancer in the early 1990s. [82], 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. She was previously married to Charles Koshiway Johnston. [114][115] She campaigned against obesity, alcoholism, and diabetes, and specifically assisted Native Americans with AIDS. ", "Sacheen Littlefeather Once Cheered Cowboys", "Littlefeather discards Oscar memories, finds new dances", "I Believe television program: Father Harry Schlitt and Sacheen Littlefeather", "Alcatraz Miss Chosen as Top Female Vampire", "Official Ceremony Marks Opening Of Fair Tonight", "It's Oscar TimeDo You Know Where Sacheen Littlefeather Is? She visited Alcatraz when it was occupied by Native American activists in the early 1970s. In her 60-second speech, she introduced herself as Apache and spoke out against Hollywoods treatment of Native Americans. My name is Sacheen Littlefeather. At a memorial service in California in 2000 with Lanny Pinola, a Pomo/Miwok spiritual leader. Upon researching his family tree, he found that he was indeed connected to the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana a tribe that was historically without a reservation and only received federal recognition in 2019. 2023 Cable News Network. He would put on tons of different voices. "When I am gone, always be reminded that whenever you stand for your truth, you will be keeping my voice and the voices of our nations and our people alive," Littlefeather's quote reads. 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. For other uses, see, Hollywood's portrayal of Native Americans, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Catholic Health Association of the United States, "Oscars protester Sacheen Littlefeather was a 'fraud,' sisters say", "R.I.P. This is how I saved my life, by blending the two together. As a result, my memory is not as good as it used to be Im 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. [4] 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". [135][136], Following Littlefeather's death, Navajo author Jacqueline Keeler interviewed Littlefeather's biological sisters Rosalind Cruz and Trudy Orlandi, who say their family does not have Native American ancestry. It's our method of survival. Home / Oscars / Awards Databases / Academy Awards Acceptance Speeches, Winner: Marlon Brando (not present; award refused by Sacheen Littlefeather (aka Marie Cruz)), Date & Venue: March 27, 1973; Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Im representing Marlin Brando this [49] She emceed an evening performance at the United National Indian Tribal Youth conference in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1976. [83] In the years immediately following the protest, Littlefeather said that it had "had little effect on the course of her career". Even before Keelers op-ed, a statement on Littlefeathers website characterized the doubts about her heritage as misinformation, and stated that her father was from the White Mountain Apache and Yaqui tribes from Arizona.. "I want my legacy here on earth to be that I spoke the truth,". We had our time together. We used to have a great time, laughing till tears were coming out of our eyes., The Brando household was a busy and often heated place with children, ex-wives and girlfriends. On Tuesday, March 27, 1973, Littlefeather represented Marlon Brando at the Academy Awards. [129][130][131][9] 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". Over the years, she became an icon, saying in interviews that she was White Mountain Apache and Yaqui, that she participated occupation of Alcatraz and that she was blacklisted by the film industry. Academy Awards Acceptance Speech Database - Oscars.org Not the audience, the press or the 85 million people watching on television (this was the first year the Oscars were broadcast internationally via satellite). Im saying goodbye to you Ive earned the right to be my true self., For more information on the documentary Sacheen: Breaking the Silence, visit onebowlproductions.com/sacheen, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. CNN On its face, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' apology to Sacheen Littlefeather earlier this year appeared to be a long overdue righting of wrongs. People often claim that they have Native blood in casual conversation or check the American Indian/Alaska Native box on application forms without being able to point to a direct Native ancestor in their family tree. As a result, my memory is not as good as it used to be Im 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. [100] 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. LaNada Warjack, a then-student activist who was on Alcatraz during the entire 18-month occupation, said Littlefeather was not there and that activists only learned who she was during her Oscar speech. Although Littlefeather was prohibited from reading the statement, she tell the audience that she would be glad to share Brando's "very long speech" with the media after the ceremony. [48], 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. [76][11], The incident drew remarks from others at the same ceremony. I lived in an oxygen tent at the hospital, which kept me alive. She was raised by her maternal grandparents, but saw her parents regularly. We made history together., A few years later, when she was 29, Littlefeathers lungs collapsed a consequence of her childhood tuberculosis and she became very ill. She found taking a holistic approach to her health helped and did a degree in holistic health and nutrition. Im going to another place, she says. John Wayne was in the wings, ready to have me taken off stage. But there is one thing which is beyond the reach of this perversity and that is the tremendous verdict of history. You directed Marlon Brando in The Godfather. She asked him for Brandos address. Sacheen Littlefeather - Facebook And soon afterward, writer Jacqueline Keeler called her entire legacy into question. What kind of moral schizophrenia is it that allows us to shout at the top of our national voice for all the world to hear that we live up to our commitment when every page of history and when all the thirsty, starving, humiliating days and nights of the last 100 years in the lives of the American Indian contradict that voice? [113] 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. [28] She played the role of Paleflower in Winterhawk, filmed in Kalispell, Montana. Sacheen Littlefeather took to the stage at the 1973 Oscars carrying an eight-page statement from Marlon Brando. It hinges on family, and that doesnt mean an ancestor or a purported ancestor five to 20 generations ago, TallBear, who is a citizen of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, said. Sacheen Littlefeather, Who Delivered Marlon Brando's Oscar Rejection Speech, Dies at 75 The Academy formally apologized to the Native American activist and former actress in June after she. [127], In 1973, Littlefeather was married to engineer Michael Rubio. 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. He was my mothers age, for Gods sake! "[78][77] 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". She was an actress, known for The Trial of Billy Jack (1974), Counselor at Crime (1973) and Johnny Firecloud (1975). ", "Oscars other scandal: The Academy really doesn't want to talk about Sacheen Littlefeather", "The Era of Pretendians American Greatness", "A Wisconsin Activist Just Got Accused Of Cosplaying A Person of Color", "Screen: 'Trial of Billy Jack,' a Sequel", "Sacheen Littlefeather's Oral History: The Oscars, Marlon Brando and a Legacy of Activism", Text, audio, video of the Academy Award speech. [25][40], Playboy magazine planned a spread called "10 Little Indians" in 1972, and one of the models was Littlefeather, but the spread was cancelled. Sometimes it was sincere, at others more self-interested, she says. "[20] Littlefeather said she was diagnosed with schizophrenia. TallBear and others say this view misconstrues how tribal governments and communities function. Their families may have been forced to assimilate through federal boarding schools or the urban relocation campaign, or they may have been adopted into White families. [137], 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". One of her neighbours was Francis Ford Coppola. Sacheen Littlefeather - IMDb Sacheen Littlefeather, famous for 1973 Oscar speech, made up her The money raised was never donated to any campaign. Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles County Music Center, CA, [AUTHENTICITY CERTIFIED: Text version below Until this day on Native Trailblazers radio. TallBear avoids the term identity when talking about tribal affiliation and citizenship. Actress: The Trial of Billy Jack. Sacheen Littlefeather has passed away at the age of 75 and although she hasn't made headlines in a while, her speech left a mark on activist history. Only if you lay down your arms, my friends, can we then talk of peace and come to an agreement which will be good for you. When they laid down their arms, we murdered them. [104] In the 1980s, she led prayer circles for Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American Catholic saint. appreciated. [Ed. Long Before Politics at the Oscars Was a Thing, There Was Sacheen "Sacheen Littlefeather, Native American civil rights activist who famously declined Marlon Brandos 1973 Best Actor Academy Award, dies at 75," the post reads. She had had a few small roles in movies, including Freebie and the Bean and The Trial of Billy Jack. During. [124] She participated in events commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Occupation of Alcatraz, including serving as head pow wow judge. [137] The Pascua Yaqui Tribe stated neither Littlefeather nor her parents were enrolled tribal members. We lied to them. But according to The Hollywood Reporter, the Academy invited her to Academy Museum, as a guest of honor. Keelers op-ed set off a wave of heated debate among Native Americans. [7] Academic and journalist Dina Gilio-Whitaker, who studies Native Americans in the US, wrote that the truth about community leaders is "crucial", even if it means losing a "hero", and that the work Littlefeather did is still valuable, but there is a need to be honest about the harm done by pretendians, especially by those who manage to fool so many people that they become iconic, as Littlefeather did. [43] "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. I thought about Marlon in his early days with his mother. LEILA. Keeler said she is committed to exposing people who falsely claim to be Native because they cause harm to tribal communities. There was a grove of trees. Littlefeather told the L.A. Times in 2016 that I was blacklisted, or you could say redlisted. Johnny Carson, Dick Cavett, they didnt want me on their shows., Sacheen Littlefeather, in her 70s, recalls speech: All hell broke loose, Dick Cavett visibly intimidated by Brandos presence, Brando speech: When Indian children watch television, and they watch films, and when they see their race depicted as they are in films, their minds become injured in ways we can never know. Littlefeather campaigning on the streets of San Francisco, c. 1990. [51], Accounts of how Littlefeather initially met Marlon Brando vary. (CNN has reached out to both tribes for comment and has been unable to independently verify whether any of Littlefeathers ancestors were enrolled in either tribe.). Bird Runningwater, co-chair of the Academys Indigenous Alliance on stage with Sacheen Littlefeather at AMPAS Presents An Evening with Sacheen Littlefeather at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on September 17, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. [44] Looking back at the photo shoot, Littlefeather later said, "I was young and dumb. John Wayne, serial slaughterer of Native Americans on-screen and self-professed white supremacist off it, just happened to be in the wings during Littlefeathers speech. [The people backstage] said theyd give me 60 seconds, or theyd arrest me. Oscars Academy Apologizes To Sacheen Littlefeather - BuzzFeed News (modern). For this, we offer both our deepest apologies and our sincere admiration." The Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona told The New York Times that neither Littlefeather nor her parents were enrolled in the tribe, but that does not mean that we could independently confirm that she is not of Yaqui ancestry generally, from Mexico or the Southwestern United States., Of her efforts to identify Pretendians, Keeler told CNN, This is not about people who are genuinely trying to reconnect with Native relatives. They wanted to make us something else. [9][42] Littlefeather was personally criticized for what was seen as exploitation of her fame,[43] but she explained that it was "strictly a business agreement" to earn the money needed to attend the World Theater Festival in Nancy, France. The letter, signed by Betty Cooper, director of the American Indian alcoholism program, and Sally Gallegos, director of the Consortium of United Indian Nations, was credited with Mandela's decision to meet with American Indian leaders in October 1990.