American activist Sacheen Littlefeather receives long overdue apology from Oscars

American actor and activist Sacheen Littlefeather has received an apology from the Academy, organizer of Oscars awards. The apology came nearly 50 years after Littlefeather was booed off the stage of awards. The Academy revealed that Littlefeather had endured "unjustified and unwarranted" abuse after her short speech during the ceremony.

Littlefeather made an appearance on live TV in the 1973 Award ceremony to refuse an Oscar on behalf of American actor Marlon Brando, who won it for "The Godfather". Brando sent Littlefeather in his place to reject the Best Actor Award because of the blatant misrepresentation of Native Americans by the US film industry.

Brando had prepared a much longer speech for her, but the award ceremony's production team instructed Littlefeather to keep the rejection to 60 seconds.

Introducing herself on Brando's behalf- who wrote "a very long speech"- she conveyed his 'regrets at being unable to accept the extremely generous award' to the audience. She faced boos- and scanty cheers- from the audience.

The rejection speech was televised to 85 million people, after which some media claimed her to be Brando's mistress. Others even claimed that she was not a Native American, and she agreed to collaborate with Brando on this stunt to help her acting career.

She later told BBC that all those claims were false.
Littlefeather was 26 at the time and was heckled and shunned by the entertainment industry in the wake of her speech at the Awards.

Littlefeather told BBC in 2020 that right after her speech, she had to flee the stage with two security guards. "But it was a very good thing," she muses, as actor John Wayne was waiting for her backstage (secured by six security personnel) and "furious with Marlon and with me," according to her. He wanted to pull her off the stage himself during the speech and had to be restrained.

As she was walking by after her speech, some people used "Tomahawk chop," which is seen as a derogatory gesture towards Native Americans.

A letter revealed to the public on Monday, addressed to Littlefeather by David Rubin, former President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, conveys his discontent at the abuse heaped on her, stating it was 'Unjustified and Unwarranted.' He also stressed that the speech at the 45th Academy Awards reminds us of the vitality of human dignity and the requirement of respect.

Littlefeather expressed her views on the reasons behind the misconduct with American Indians, referring to a forceful confrontation between the Sioux people and federal agents. She held the Film Industry, television in movie re-runs, and current incidents at Wounded Knee responsible for this behavior.

She jested in response to the apology: "We Indians are very patient people- it's only been 50 years!"


She also added that having a sense of humor is "our method of survival."
The Academy Museu of Motion Pictures will host an event in September in which Littlefeather will talk about her appearance at the 1973 Oscars and the Future of indigenous representation on screen.

The Awards Organizers have confessed that her speech has claimed the place of honor, becoming the first political statement at the televised awards ceremony- heralding a trend that will follow even into the Future.