The Academy Film Museum announced Monday that it will host Littlefeather, now 75, for an evening of “conversation, healing and celebration” on Sept. 17. When Brando won best actor for The Godfather, Little Feather, wearing a leather dress and moccasins, took the stage, becoming the first Native American ever to do so at the Academy Awards. In a 60-second speech, he explained that Brando could not accept the award because of “the treatment of American Indians today by the motion picture industry.”
Subject to discrimination, attack
Some in the audience booed her. John Wayne, who was backstage at the time, was reportedly furious. The 1973 Oscars took place during the two-month occupation of Wounded Knee by the American Indian Movement in South Dakota. In the years since, Littlefeather said she has been discriminated against and personally attacked for her brief appearance at the Oscars. In making the announcement, the Academy Museum shared a June 18 letter sent to Littlefeather by David Rubin, then the academy’s president, about the iconic Oscars moment. Rubin called Littlefeather’s speech “a powerful statement that continues to remind us of the necessity of respect and the importance of human dignity.” “The abuse you suffered because of this statement was unwarranted and unwarranted,” Rubin wrote. “The emotional toll you have experienced and the cost to your own career in our industry is irreparable. For too long the courage you have shown has gone unrecognized. For this, we offer our deepest apologies and our sincere admiration.” Sacheen Littlefeather participates in a discussion in Beverly Hills, Calif., in this August 2010 file photo. (Chris Pizello/The Associated Press) Littlefeather, in a statement, said it was “deeply encouraging to see how much has changed since I didn’t accept the Oscar 50 years ago.” “Regarding the Academy’s apology to me, we Indians are very patient people – it’s only been 50 years!” said Littlefeather. “We have to keep our sense of humor about it at all times. It’s our survival method.” At the Academy Museum event in Los Angeles, Littlefeather will be in conversation with producer Bird Runningwater, co-chair of the academy’s Indigenous Alliance. In a podcast earlier this year with Jacqueline Stewart, a film scholar and director of the Academy Museum, Littlefeather reflected on what compelled her to speak out in 1973. “I felt like there should be Native people, black people, Asian people, Chicano people — I felt like everyone should be included,” Littlefeather said. “A rainbow of people who have to participate in creating their own image.”
