The academy has apologized to Sacheen Littlefeather after an incident at the 1973 Oscars nearly 50 years ago. According to , the 75-year-old Native American actress was invited to the Academy Museum for an evening of reflection … and was offered an official apology.
“I was stunned,” she said. “I never thought I would live to see the day that I would hear and experience this. When I stood on the podium in 1973, I was alone.”
At the 1973 Oscars, Littlefeather, then 26, took the stage to reject the Best Actor award on behalf of Marlon Brando.
What she experienced that night were boos, mock screams and insulting gestures backstage. She was threatened with arrest and even physical assault.
Now the academy has decided to put things right.
“[Brando] very sadly cannot accept this very generous award,” Littlefeather said in an impromptu speech that evening. “And the reason for that is the film industry’s treatment of American Indians today [the audience begins to boo] – sorry – and on TV in movie reruns and also with the recent events at Wounded Knee.”
She received two instructions – the first from Brando not to touch the statuette.
The second, by Oscar producer Howard Koch, wasn’t supposed to run more than 60 seconds in her speech or she would be arrested by security guards, who he made sure were on hand.
And after her 60-second plea for justice, she was booed, taunted and even threatened by John Wayne, who she felt needed to be restrained to keep him from storming the stage and attacking her.
“The abuse you suffered because of that statement was unjustified and unjustified,” the Academy’s then-President David Rubin said in a letter to Littlefoot in June. “The emotional drain you have endured and the cost of your own career in our industry is beyond repair. For too long the courage you have shown has not been recognised. For this we offer both our deepest apologies and our sincere admiration.”
After the incident, Littlefeather rose to prominence as a Native American civil rights activist and co-founder of the American Indian Registry for Performing Arts.
“You know, I never got on stage for any awards in 1973,” she said. “I only stood there because my ancestors were with me, and I spoke the truth.”
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“Yes, an apology is due,” she added. “As my friends in the local community have said, it is long overdue. I could have been dead by now. All my friends – [activists] Dennis Banks, Russell Means, John Trudell, [comedian] Charlie Hill – gone.”
Still, the activist is thrilled with the influx of ambassadors we’ve seen lately – particularly from Reservation Dogs and War Pony.
“Finally someone is breaking down the doors,” she said. “And I’m so happy that’s happening — even if I don’t swear like they do at Reservation Dogs.”
An Evening with Sacheen Littlefeather is free to the public via online booking on September 17, 2022.
Thumbnail photo credit: Bettmann/Getty Images
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. you can follow him Twitter.