The Academy recently apologized to Sacheen Littlefeather 50 years after her infamous 1973 Oscars moment. The Native American activist was asked to take the stage for Marlon Brando when he won Best Actor for The Godfather. She declined the award on Brando’s behalf and spoke about a statement from the actor addressing Hollywood’s portrayal and treatment of Native American people in film and television.
“I’m Sacheen Littlefeather. I’m Marlon Brando’s official representative here this evening. Unfortunately, he cannot receive this Academy Award because of the image of Native American Indian people in film and television today,” Littlefeather says during the moment, which has carried a lot of weight along with it through today and elicited boos and jeers from the audience in attendance.
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Two names that have been connected to Littlefeather’s moment in the years since: Clint Eastwood and John Wayne, arguably the two biggest cowboy stars of their eras. The Unforgiven actor/director took the stage after Littlefeather’s statement to name the Best Picture winner. “I don’t know if I should present this award,” he said, “on behalf of all the cowboys shot in all the John Ford westerns over the years,” Eastwood said at the time.
There is no doubt that happened because it occurred on stage and in front of the television cameras. What has always been polarizing and far more infamous is the alleged reaction of John Wayne to Littlefeather’s moment. The activist has retold the story many times over the years and includes the following tidbit. “[John Wayne] did not like what I was saying up at the podium,” Littlefeather recounts, according to Variety. “So, he came forth in a rage to physically assault and take me off the stage. And he had to be restrained by six security men in order for that not to happen.”
According to the 26-year-old activist, it was the cap to a moment she called “very racist” before detailing how she had armed security with her after leaving the stage and heading toward the press rooms. But there has been plenty of speculation on the truth of the moment related to Wayne, and just how far he did go. The “six security guards” story has made the rounds plenty, but it also might be a myth that persists. It’s not to say that Wayne is actually a saint or that Littlefeather is lying, but more to say that details can cloud over the years, especially during a high-profile moment.
While most reports on the apology quote Littlefeather’s take on what happened, film writer and historian Farran Nehme dug into the moment to try to determine the truth. Citing several accounts from memoirs and those behind-the-scenes, while also pointing out Wayne’s deteriorating health at the time. “John Wayne, then 65 years old, had undergone lung-cancer surgery in 1964. The surgeons made a 28-inch incision, removing two ribs and the entire upper lobe of his left lung,” she writes. She also shares a clip of Wayne’s appearance at the end of the show to drive home how “six security men” wouldn’t have a tough time holding Wayne back.
Nehme’s piece does the work and attempts to determine what the actual truth of the moment could be. What is verifiable is that Wayne was “in an uproar” and he wasn’t alone in being upset, but Nehme concludes that the reality has morphed over the years into the sensational story that is in the spotlight again due to the Academy apology.
It also doesn’t help Wayne’s image that his 1971 interview in Playboy continues to resurface every few years. After reading that, it isn’t a stretch to assume he could want to attack a young Native American activist, even if it is far from the reality for the man.
