Hello. My name is Sacheen Littlefeather. I'm Apache and I am president of the National Native American Affirmative Image Committee. I'm representing Marlin Brando this evening, and he has asked me to tell you in a very long speech which I cannot share with you presently, because of time, but I will be glad to share with the press afterwards, that he very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award. And the reasons for this being are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry – excuse me [boos and cheers] – and on television in movie re-runs, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee. I beg at this time that I have not intruded upon this evening, and that we will in the future, our hearts and our understandings will meet with love and generosity. Thank you on behalf of Marlon Brando. [applause]
Littlefeather got in contact with actor Marlon Brando through her neighbor, director Francis Ford Coppola. She wrote Brando a letter, asking about his interest in Native American issues, and he called the radio where she worked a year later. Brando had worked as an activist with the American Indian Movement (AIM) since the 1960s and into the 1970s. In Washington, D.C., where Littlefeather was presenting to the Federal Communications Commission about minorities, they met and found in common their involvement with AIM.
In 1972, Brando played Vito Corleone in The Godfather, which is considered one of the greatest films of all time. For the performance, he was nominated for Best Actor for the role at the 45th Academy Awards, which were presented on March 27, 1973, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. But before the ceremony, Brando decided that – as the favorite to win – he would boycott as a protest against the ongoing siege at Wounded Knee led by AIM and his views on how Native Americans were represented in American films. He called Littlefeather and asked her to appear on his behalf. "I was a spokesperson, so to speak, for the stereotype of Native Americans in film and television," she later said.
Littlefeather joined the audience minutes before the award for Best Actor was announced. She was accompanied by Brando's secretary, Alice Marchak, and wore braided hair and an Apache buckskin dress. Producer Howard W. Koch, she would later say, told her that she had 60 seconds to deliver the speech or else be removed from the stage; she had planned to read a 15-page speech written by Brando.
The Best Actor award was presented by actors Liv Ullmann and Roger Moore. After giving brief remarks and announcing the five nominees, they declared Brando to be the winner. Littlefeather walked on stage and raised her hand to decline the Oscar trophy that Moore offered her. Deviating from the prepared speech she clutched, she said the following:
Moore escorted Littlefeather off-stage, past several people critical of her, and to the press. Backstage, actor John Wayne was outraged by her speech, and six security guards held him back from Littlefeather. At the press conference, Littlefeather read to journalists the speech that Brando had prepared; The New York Times published the full text the next day.
Later that night, before she announced the Best Actress winner, Raquel Welch said, "I hope the winner doesn't have a cause." When Clint Eastwood presented the Best Picture award, he remarked that he was presenting it "on behalf of all the cowboys shot in John Ford westerns over the years." Michael Caine, the night's co-host, criticized Eastwood for "Letting some poor little Indian girl take the boos" instead of "[standing] up and [doing] it himself".
The audience in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion was divided between applause and jeers. Brando and Littlefeather's protest was generally considered inappropriate for the awards ceremony. "I was distressed that people should have booed and whistled and stomped, even though perhaps it was directed at myself," Brando later told Dick Cavett. "They should have at least had the courtesy to listen to her." Her appearance prompted the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to rule out future proxy acceptance of Academy Awards.
Littlefeather claims that she was blacklisted by the Hollywood community and received threats. In addition, she says, media reports published several falsehoods, such as that she was not Native American or had rented the outfit for the occasion. She has said that the federal government encouraged the blacklisting in order to abate Native American activism after Wounded Knee.
The speech was credited with bringing attention back to the Wounded Knee standoff, on which a media blackout had been imposed. Coretta Scott King called Littlefeather to thank her for the speech. In 2014, the 87th ceremony of the Academy Awards drew criticism for lack of diversity in nominations; actress Jada Pinkett Smith, who boycotted the ceremony, cited Littlefeather as inspiration to do so.
Sacheen Cruz Littlefeather was born Marie Louise Cruz on November 14, 1946, in Salinas, California. Her mother was a leather Stamper from Phoenix, Arizona, of French, German, and Dutch descent. Her father, an alcoholic who beat her mother, was from the White Mountain Apache and Yaqui tribes. The couple moved to California while her mother was pregnant. She was primarily raised by her maternal grandparents, Marie and Barney, and was Catholic as a child. Sometimes she lived with her mother; she recalls a trip through Mississippi when she was told to use the "black" water fountains and a sign that read, "No Dogs or Indians Allowed".
Littlefeather got in contact with actor Marlon Brando through her neighbor, Director Francis Ford Coppola. She wrote Brando a letter, asking about his interest in Native American issues, and he called the radio where she worked a year later. Brando had worked as an Activist with the American Indian Movement (AIM) since the 1960s and into the 1970s. In Washington, D.C., where Littlefeather was presenting to the Federal Communications Commission about minorities, they met and found in Common their involvement with AIM.
While she attended California State University, East Bay, she continued to look into her Native American identity. In Oakland, she worked with the Intertribal Friendship House. In 1969, she became a member of Indians of All Tribes and participated in the occupation of Alcatraz, when she adopted the name Sacheen Littlefeather. She learned more about Native American customs from elders and other protesters.
Playboy magazine planned a spread called "10 Little Indians" in 1972, and one of the Models was Littlefeather, but Playboy editors cancelled its publication due to the Wounded Knee incident. A year later in October 1973, after her Academy Award appearance fame, they ran the photographs of Littlefeather as a stand-alone feature. Littlefeather was personally criticized for what was seen as exploitation of her fame. Looking back at the photo shoot, Littlefeather later said, "I was young and dumb."
In 1972, Brando played Vito Corleone in The Godfather, which is considered one of the greatest films of all time. For the performance, he was nominated for Best Actor for the role at the 45th Academy Awards, which were presented on March 27, 1973, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. But before the ceremony, Brando decided that – as the favorite to win – he would boycott as a protest against the ongoing siege at Wounded Knee led by AIM and his views on how Native Americans were represented in American films. He called Littlefeather and asked her to appear on his behalf. "I was a spokesperson, so to speak, for the stereotype of Native Americans in film and television," she later said.
In 1979, she co-founded the National American Indian Performing Arts Registry, which later helped several actors join the production of Dances with Wolves. She shared an Emmy Award as an advisor to PBS's Dance in America: Song for Dead Warriors (1984). She also worked on the PBS shows Remember Me Forever and The Americas Before Columbus (both 1992), and she has produced films on Native American health. In 2009, she gave testimony in the documentary Reel Injun about Native Americans in film.
She continued doing activism and became a respected member of California's Native American community. In the 1980s, she led prayer circles for Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American Catholic saint. In 1988, she worked with Mother Teresa helping AIDS patients in hospice care, later founding the American Indian AIDS Institute of San Francisco. She campaigned against obesity, alcoholism, and diabetes, and specifically assisted Native Americans with AIDS, including her brother.
The speech was credited with bringing attention back to the Wounded Knee standoff, on which a media blackout had been imposed. Coretta Scott King called Littlefeather to thank her for the speech. In 2014, the 87th ceremony of the Academy Awards drew criticism for lack of diversity in nominations; Actress Jada Pinkett Smith, who boycotted the ceremony, cited Littlefeather as inspiration to do so.
In March 2018, a spokesperson announced that Littlefeather had developed stage 4 breast cancer. As of April 2018, Littlefeather resides in Northern California.
