Brando’s brave Oscar protester
Sacheen Littlefeather Actress, model and activist BORN NOVEMBER 14, 1946 – DIED OCTOBER 2, 2022, AGED 75
SACHEEN Littlefeather caused uproar when she declined Marlon Brando’s Best Actor Oscar on behalf of the star at the 1973 Academy Awards, in protest at the film industry’s treatment of Native Americans.
The actress and model, of Apache and Yaqui descent, was booed as she read a shortened version of Brando’s eight-page speech, which drew attention to the Wounded Knee protests.
Wearing an Apache Buckskin dress, Littlefeather, then just 26, received some applause.
But others mocked her with a tomahawk chop gesture as she was escorted backstage, where prominent cowboy actor John Wayne had been restrained by several security guards after attempting to storm her speech.
In an interview this summer, Littlefeather recalled what happened as escorted guards led her away. “I held my head high and was proud to be the first indigenous woman in the history of the Academy Awards to make that political statement,” she said.
Littlefeather, named for the feather she wore in her hair, was blacklisted by Hollywood for years.
In June this year, the Academy finally apologised for “the abuse you endured” which it called “unwarranted and unjustified”.
She was born Marie Louise Cruz in Salinas, California, to Native American Manuel Ybarra Cruz and Geroldine (née Barnitz), of French, German and Dutch descent, both of whom were saddle makers.
Littlefeather developed her interest in Native American history and culture at California State University while studying drama.
She wrote to Brando asking for his support after befriending Francis Ford Coppola.
After the protest, she appeared in minor roles and worked in healthcare for the indigenous community.
She died of breast cancer.