Indigenous icon Littlefeather dies at 75

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Less than two months after the Academy apologized over her treatment at the 1973 Academy Awards, Sacheen Littlefeather (Apache/Yaqui/Ariz) died at the age of 75 according to the Academy of Motion Pictures.

Littlefeather had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

The Academy announced on Saturday night her death in a tweet. According to a statement from her caregiver, she died at noon on Sunday at her home in the Northern California city of Novato, surrounded by her loved ones.

An apology 49 years late

When Sacheen Littlefeather (Apache/Yaqui/Ariz) represented Marlon Brando at the 1973 Oscars, she spoke out against the abuse of Native Americans and rejected to receive Brando's award on his behalf. Littlefeather's career in movies came to an end as a result of the harassment and abuse she endured after the 60-second statement and during which she was jeered and booed.

The Academy issued Littlefeather an official apology 50 years later on June 18, according to The Hollywood Reporter (THR), and invited her to the Academy Museum as a guest for an evening of contemplation on September 17th.

On stage, in a historical moment in both Oscars and live television in 1973, Littlefeather was heckled offstage and threatened with both arrest and physical assault. Upon Marlon Brando's request, the Native American actress, then 26 years old, entered the stage and declined the best actor prize for his part in the cinema classic "The Godfather".

She vowed to follow Brando's directions not to touch the statuette and to confine her remarks to a maximum of 60 seconds (A directive from the show's producer Howard Koch, who informed Littlefeather before the award ceremony that he had security on ready to detain her if she continued over the allotted time).

Little feather was pushed to improvise her speech after Koch’s threats which became an obstacle to reading Brando’s pre-written speech.

“[Brando] very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award,” Littlefeather said adding that “the reasons for this being are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry [the audience begins to boo] — excuse me — and on television in movie reruns, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee.”

At the time Wounded Knee was under a US Department of Justice-imposed blackout as Native Americans had occupied the South Dakota village in protest of the continued mistreatment of their people.

She will visit the Academy again over fifty years later as an honored guest for an evening of reflection at the Academy Museum that will include a formal apology from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), something she never thought would happen in her lifetime. 

“I was stunned. I never thought I’d live to see the day I would be hearing this, experiencing this,” adding that “When I was at the podium in 1973, I stood there alone,” now 75-year-old Littlefeather told regarding the apology she received.

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After her infamous speech, everything changed for Littlefeather. Even talk shows or productions were threatened to be shut down by the US federal government, revealed THR.

The apology, dated June 18, and signed by then-Academy president David Rubin read:

“As you stood on the Oscars stage in 1973 to not accept the Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brando, in recognition of the misrepresentation and mistreatment of Native American people by the film industry, you made a powerful statement that continues to remind us of the necessity of respect and the importance of human dignity.

The abuse you endured because of this statement was unwarranted and unjustified.  The emotional burden you have lived through and the cost to your own career in our industry are irreparable.  For too long the courage you showed has been unacknowledged.  For this, we offer both our deepest apologies and our sincere admiration.

We cannot realize the Academy’s mission to “inspire imagination and connect the world through cinema” without a commitment to facilitating the broadest representation and inclusion reflective of our diverse global population.

Today, nearly 50 years later, and with the guidance of the Academy’s Indigenous Alliance, we are firm in our commitment to ensuring indigenous voices—the original storytellers—are visible, respected contributors to the global film community. We are dedicated to fostering a more inclusive, respectful industry that leverages a balance of art and activism to be a driving force for progress.

We hope you receive this letter in the spirit of reconciliation and as recognition of your essential role in our journey as an organization.  You are forever respectfully engrained in our history.”

At the Academy Museum celebration of Littlefeather on September 17, THR wrote, the apology will be read in its entirety. Littlefeather will take part in a discussion with producer Bird Runningwater (Cheyenne/Mescalero Apache/N.M.), co-chair of the Academy's Indigenous Alliance. Runningwater was the one who initially contacted Littlefeather on the Academy's behalf as part of the museum's ongoing initiatives to examine the group's past and determine its future through a more comprehensive, inclusive lens.

Littlefeather will be making her first trip to the museum, where a picture of her has been put within the gallery chronicling the history of the Academy Awards. After her career got derailed due to her decision to stand up for her people in 1973, Littlefeather pursued studies in traditional medicine and nutrition as well as worked at Mother Teresa's AIDS hospice. However, she never anticipated reconciliation with the most powerful Hollywood institution.

Living with metastatic breast cancer, Littlefeather, according to THR, said “Yes, there’s an apology that’s due. As my friends in the Native community said, it’s long overdue,” adding that “I could have been dead by now. All of my friends — [activists] Dennis Banks, Russell Means, John Trudell, [comedian] Charlie Hill — are gone.”

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When asked what she thought of Koch and the other Oscar night participants who stood by as she was harassed, she laughed wholeheartedly and said that “When they got to the other side, I’m sure that my ancestors spoke to them on my behalf. And I’m sure Mr. Charles went over there and had a talk with them immediately. I’m sure his first target was John Wayne.”

According to THR, Littlefeather claims that she has maintained a daily practice of "love, gratitude, and forgiveness” for herself. She has also been encouraged by the most recent advancements in Native American representation in Hollywood stories and stated that “At long last, somebody is breaking down the doors. And I’m so very happy this is happening."

When in 1973 Littlefeather concluded her speech by saying “I beg at this time that … in the future, our hearts, and our understandings will meet with love and generosity,” she did not know it would take 49 years for the world to finally get there.