Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native American activist who declined Marlon Brando’s Oscar for The Godfather on his behalf at the 1973 Academy Awards, has died. She was 75. Littlefeather’s death came less than three weeks after she spoke at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science’s museum in Hollywood and accepted their apology for her treatment almost 50 years ago.
Littlefeather’s death was announced by the Academy late Sunday. She died at her home in Novato, California. She was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in 2018. Littlefeather’s family also told USA Today she died “peacefully at home… surrounded by loved ones.”
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In 1973, Littlefeather delivered the first political statement during an Oscars ceremony when she announced Brando was declining his Best Actor award. “He very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award,” Littlefeather told the audience and millions of Americans at home. “And the reasons for this being are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry… and on television in movie re-runs, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee.”
Littlefeather was only 26 at the time and was met with a mix of applause and boos at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. In June, the Academy sent Littlefeather an apology, signed by former Academy President David Rubin, for her treatment that night. In September, she went to the Academy Museum for a tribute event. “I was stunned. I never thought I’d live to see the day I would be hearing this, experiencing this,” Littlefeather told The Hollywood Reporter in August when she accepted the Academy’s apology. “When I was at the podium in 1973, I stood there alone.”
“I write to you today a letter that has been a long time coming on behalf of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, with humble acknowledgment of your experience at the 45th Academy Awards,” the Academy’s apology 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 organization called the abuse she faced “unwarranted and unjustified.” The apology continued, “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.”
In an interview with Variety last month, Littlefeather said she would do it all over again “in a heartbeat” if she had to. She said she did it not only for Brando, or on her own behalf, but for all the Native peoples who face racism and discrimination. “I did it for all of those who were born under the umbrella of genocide, in the United States, and Canada, and for all of us who have suffered through extreme stereotypes which were not of our choosing,” Littlefeather said.
Littlefeather was born on Nov. 14, 1946, as the eldest daughter of Geroldine and Manuel Cruz (Apache/Yaqui of Arizona). She graduated from Antioch University with a Bachelor of Sciences in holistic health and nutrition but pursued an acting and modeling career. She was a member of the Screen Actors Guild and the Red Earth Theater Company and made appearances in several films during the 1970s. She co-founded the National American Indian Performing Arts Registry.
Littlefeather’s funeral will take place later this month at St. Rita Church in Fairfax, California. She will be buried next to her husband, Charles Koshiway, at the Otoe-Missouria Cemetary in Red Rock, Oklahoma. Her family is asking for donations to be made in her memory to the American Indian Child Resource Center.
