Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native American actress and activist who made historical past when she declined the Greatest Actor Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brando, has died on the age of 75.
The Academy of Movement Image Arts and Sciences introduced her dying on Monday in a submit shared on Twitter.
The tweet, accompanied by a picture of the Apache and Yaqui actress, learn: “Sacheen Littlefeather, Native American civil rights activist who famously declined Marlon Brando’s 1973 Greatest Actor Academy Award, dies at 75.”
Whereas no reason behind dying was instantly given, Littlefeather disclosed in a Fb submit in January final yr that she had metastasized breast most cancers.
Littlefeather made historical past when she stepped on stage on the 1973 Oscars on behalf of “The Godfather” star Brando, who determined to boycott the award ceremony in protest on the portrayal of Native People on the large display screen. Brando was additionally reacting to the response of federal regulation enforcement to the occupation of the South Dakota city of Wounded Knee by members of the American Indian Motion.
Her quick speech, for which she wore a buckskin gown and moccasins, was met with a mix of boos and applause. It price the budding actress, whose movie credit included “Winterhawk,” “Shoot the Solar Down” and “The Trial of Billy Jack,” her profession as she was quickly blacklisted from the movie business and shunned by the leisure world.
In August, the Academy formally apologized to Littlefeather for the mistreatment she skilled throughout her speech and within the years that adopted.
A letter from former Academy President David Rubin to Littlefeather stated the abuse she endured was “unwarranted and unjustified.”
He added: “The emotional burden you may have lived by and the associated fee to your individual profession in our business are irreparable. For too lengthy the braveness you confirmed has been unacknowledged. For this, we provide each our deepest apologies and our honest admiration.”
Describing the apology as a “dream come true,” Littlefeather stated: “We Indians are very affected person individuals — it’s solely been 50 years!
“We have to hold our humorousness about this always. It’s our technique of survival,” she added.
Final month, the Academy hosted an occasion at its movie museum in Los Angeles that featured Littlefeather as a keynote speaker alongside different Indigenous performers.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable Information Community, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Firm. All rights reserved.