Two weeks ago, the Academy hosted a ceremony at its new Los Angeles museum to pay tribute to Littlefeather and publicly apologize for the treatment she received at the Oscars nearly 50 years ago.
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Sacheen Littlefeather, who was Apache and Yaqui, was booed at the Academy Awards ceremony in 1973, in the first live broadcast around the world, when she explained that Brando, whom she represented, was refusing the Oscar for best actor for “The Godfather.” due to “the film industry’s treatment of Native Americans.” Brando asked the actress to reject the award on her behalf as a gesture of protest.
During the tribute, on September 17, the actress stated that on that occasion she took the stage “as a proud indigenous woman, with dignity, with courage, with grace and with humility”. “I knew I had to tell the truth. Some people could accept it. And others don’t,” she said.
She also claimed that star John Wayne had to be restrained from physically attacking her as he left the stage. Sacheen Littlefeather was a member of the Screen Actors' Guild, the union for film professionals, and had difficulty finding work in Hollywood as casting directors were pressured to leave her out of productions. The actress, who had breast cancer, died on Sunday, the Academy announced.
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(With AFP)
