Sacheen Littlefeatherthe activist who made national news in 1973 for famously refusing to accept Marlon Brando’s Oscar for the godfather, is deceased. The news was announced by the Academy of Motion Pictures and comes after a battle with breast cancer. Kleineveer was 75 years old.
In 1973, Brando boycotted the Academy Awards ceremony as a way to protest Hollywood’s portrayal of Native Americans and raise awareness for the Wounded Knee standoff. Littlefeather took his place, and as expected with Brando as the favourite, it was announced that he won Best Actor for the godfather. On behalf of Brando, Littlefeather refused to accept the Oscar for the reasons mentioned above. This was met with some booing from those in attendance, and celebrities like Clint Eastwood and Michael Caine would later criticize Littlefeather for disrupting the ceremony in this way.
Decades later, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences would formally apologize to Littlefeather. Upon learning of the apology in August, Littlefeather shared: THR she was “stunned” by the news. She added, “I never thought I’d live to see the day I’d hear this, experience this.”
On September 17, the Academy also hosted a special event for the activist called “An Evening with Sacheen Littlefeather.” During the celebration, Littlefeather was personally apologized as she spoke about her activism and the big Oscar moment. She was also recorded reading Brando’s full Oscar acceptance speech which could not be read on the day of the ceremony in 1973 due to time constraints.
Sacheen Littlefeather has an important place in film history
Littlefeather also recently reflected on death in a separate interview with Variety. She said she was not afraid to die, convinced that she would be reunited with those she had lost in the years before her.
“When we die, we know our ancestors are coming to give,” she said. “We know we are going to that spirit world where we came from. We regard this as a warrior with pride and not defeated, we look forward to join our ancestors who will be with us in our last breath and they will give us welcome to that world on the other side and have a great feast for us.”
Sacheen had some acting roles in the 1970s, appearing in such films as Counselor of Crime, The trial of Billy Jack, winter hawk, Shoot down the sunand Johnny Firecloud. Due to the controversy over the Oscars, she was essentially blacklisted, putting an immediate end to her acting career. In 2009 she would appear in the documentary Reel Injunand in 2018 she was the subject of the documentary Sacheen: breaking the silence.
Our thoughts are with Littlefeather’s family and friends at this time. May she rest in peace.