Sacheen Littlefeather, Activist Who Rejected Brando’s Oscar, Dies at 75 – Abeylele

Sahleen Littlefeather, a Native American actress and activist who declined an Academy Award for Best Actor to Marlon Brando in 1973. Sahleen Littlefeather died on Sunday evening,

the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced. Sacheen Littlefeather made history by walking onstage at the 1973 Academy Awards to represent Marlon Brando. In 1973,

Sacheen Littlefeather (Apache/Yaqui/AZ), a member of the Screen Actors Guild, became the first Native American woman to step onstage at an Oscars ceremony, standing in for Marlon

Brando. Sacheen Littlefeather, a Native American actress and activist who made history by declining an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Marlon Brando, has died at

age 75. As Sacheen Littlefeather told the story, she met Marlon Brando through her neighbor in the Bay Area, Francis Ford Coppola, director of the film The Godfather, who promised

to forward the actor a letter she wrote about his interest in Native American issues. Sacheen Littlefeather had several bit parts in films including The Billy Jack Trial, a movie

for which Littlefeather said that after winning an Oscar in 1973, she was blacklisted from Hollywood, returning to San Francisco to pursue activism and jobs in theatre and

healthcare. According to Anne Brebner, who ran Littlefeathers modeling bookings at The Brebner Agency, after her Academy Award performance, she was deluged with letters and

telephone calls, leading to radio and TV appearances, as well as an opportunity to audition for multiple movie roles. Onstage, Sacheen Littlefeather called out offensive

stereotypes about American Indians perpetuated on film and television, and she brought attention to the recent events at Wounded Knee, where a dispute over corruption at Pine Ridge

Indian Reservation in South Dakota led to a standoff with federal authorities. Her brief speech, in which she wore a buckskin dress and loafers, was met with a mix of boos and

cheers. Her acceptance speech to reject the Academy Award on behalf of Brando was met with a mix of boos and cheers. Littlefeather came out onto the stage and raised her hands to

reject the Oscar trophy which was being offered her by British actor Roger Moore. This historic TV moment is prominently featured in the museums “Academy Awards Story” gallery.

Littlefeather was born to a Native American father (Apache and Yaqui) and white mother. Her mother, a leather stamper and pianist, was white; her father, a saddlemaker and painter,

was a White Mountain Apache and Yaqui. Sacheen Cruz Littlefeather (born Marie Louise Cruz; November 14, 1946 – October 2, 2022) Marie Louise Cruz was an American actress, model,