(Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group), Trudy Orlandi remembers her late sister Maria Cruz, the woman who would later become famous as Native American activist Sacheen Littlefeather, during an interview at her home in Marin County, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/sacheen-littlefeather-academy-awards-2477981. Its one of the biggest hoaxes certainly the biggest hoax since Iron Eyes Cody, said Dina Gilio-Whitaker, a Cal State San Marcos lecturer of American Indian Studies who was commissioned at one point to ghostwrite Littlefeathers memoir. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. or redistributed. The speech was shared at a press conference after the ceremony and was published in its entirety by the New York Times. Geroldine Cruz was not a battered wife or mentally ill, and their hearing-impaired father never touched alcohol or abused his children. FILE - Sacheen Littlefeather, a Native American activist, tells the audience at the Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, March 27, 1973, that Marlon Brando was declining to accept his. "[48], A 1974 article about a Littlefeather interview stated that she was working for a San Francisco radio station when she applied for work with Coppola and that he then referred her to Brando, "knowing Brando's interest in the Indian". [2][3], Aspiring to become an actress, Littlefeather picked up several radio and television commercial credits and joined the Screen Actors Guild. "I later learned six security guards had to hold back John Wayne, who was in the wings and wanted to storm on the stage and drag me off," she claimed. Sacheen Littlefeather, the activist who famously stood in for Marlon Brando to refuse the best actor Oscar in 1973, faked Native American ancestry, her family have said. [7] She said in a 2021 interview that the cancer had metastasized to her right lung and that she was terminal. [74], After giving the speech, Littlefeather spent two days in Los Angeles before returning to San Francisco. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ", CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER. [24], In interviews, Littlefeather said she had a difficult childhood. [18][19] In 1969, she joined the United Bay Indian Council. Celebrating creativity and promoting a positive culture by spotlighting the best sides of humanityfrom the lighthearted and fun to the thought-provoking and enlightening. Marlon Brando had a long history of supporting various social movements dating back to at least 1946 when he backed the Zionist movement for a Jewish homeland. And while Brando's motives weren't fully appreciated at the time, today it's clear that he was ahead of his time. In this combination image, Native American Sacheen Littlefeather speaks at the 45th Academy Awards. Canby has started an oral history project with Native American elders in Marin County. In a 1974 interview, she stated that her mother left her father when she was 4 and took her to live with her maternal grandparents. (Bettmann via Getty Images). She wore a buckskin dress and moccasins. [97][98] She criticized the use of an Indian-themed mascot at Tomales High in 2001. Sacheen Littlefeathers work on famed San Francisco ballet among suspect claims. None of Littlefeathers relatives identified as Native American, Keeler said. [61] Littlefeather stated in 2022 that some people mockingly used the tomahawk chop towards her as she was led by. Littlefeather, who just passed away on October 2, 2022 at age 75, was only 26 years old when she took the stage after Brando was announced as the winner of the Best Actor Award. [121] In the piece, a character from Orange's novel There, There writes to Brando about what it meant to see Littlefeather at the Oscars. Brando was also highly dissatisfied with the way Hollywood treated American Indians. [99] In the 1980s, she led prayer circles for Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American Catholic saint. Sacheen Littlefeather gets apology for abuse by John Wayne, others at 1973 Oscars [85][86], She described the Academy's apology to her as "a dream come true", and said that "we Indians are very patient peopleit's only been 50 years!" [56][57][58] Koch recalled that he permitted her to stay and make her speech after she promised not to make a scene. She committed herself to other health education work as well and worked with Mother Theresa doing hospice care for AIDS patients. When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the news on its social media accounts. "I beg at this time that I have not intruded on this evening, and that in the future our hearts and our understandings will meet with love and generosity," Littlefeather added as she rejected the Academy Awardfor Brando. Updated Oct. 2: Sacheen Littlefeather has died at the age of 75. [40] As a spokesperson for the National American Indian Council, she protested President Richard Nixon's budget cuts to federal Indian programs in February 1973. [62] Oscars producer Koch and director Marty Pasetta both later recalled that John Wayne was waiting in the wings and had to be restrained by six security guards to prevent him from forcing her off stage. For too long the courage you showed has been unacknowledged. Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native American activist and actress who famously declined an Oscar on behalf of actor Marlon Brando at the 45th Academy Awards, has died at 75, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Sunday. When he was nominated for an Oscar for his infamous portrayal of Don Corleone in "The Godfather," he refused to attend the ceremony. Some of Littlefeathers claims about aiding Native American organizations can be verified. She was 75 years old. I never saw my sister being beaten by my dad. Helene Hagan, a historian, anthropologist and former longtime friend, believes that Littlefeathers Native American claims and delusions of being a suffering, victimized woman began around this time. [130][131], Following Littlefeather's death, Navajo author Jacqueline Keeler interviewed Littlefeather's biological sisters Rosalind Cruz and Trudy Orlandi, who say their family did not have Native American ancestry. To her, Sacheen was Marie Louise Cruz from Salinas, and they had a Mexican American father and White mother. Sacheen Littlefeathers work on famed San Francisco ballet among suspect claims [16][17] She said she had been treated with thorazine and other medications but "mostly stabilized with much help" from the San Francisco Bay Area Native American community. [101] Although St. Mary's Hospital and Health Center did receive an Achievement Citation from the Catholic Health Association of the United States in 1986 for Traditional Indian Medicine's Role in the Carondelet Health System,[102] an article about the award only mentions the initiator of the program, Apache nurse Belinda Acosta, and the program coordinator, Ann Hubbert. It was a moving presentation, but it was a pretend Sacheen, said Orlandi, who lives in Marin County now. Not only did he refuse the Academy Award for Best Actor, which he won for his role as Don Vito Corleone, but he sent Sacheen Littlefeather to the ceremony in his place. Then came Marlon Brando to bring it all to center stage quite literally. Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native American activist who declined Marlon Brando's Oscar for The Godfather on his behalf in 1973, has died aged 75. Marlon Brando . Sacheen Littlefeather fue la primera mujer nativa americana en subir al escenario de los scar. However, Littlefeather claimed she felt "abandoned" by Brando when she was faced withthe intense backlash. [23] Later, though, Littlefeather said she was blacklisted by the Hollywood community and received threats. Indian activists had taken over the Bureau of Indian Affairs building the year before and the siege of Wounded Knee was underway in South Dakota. He had actually written a 15-page speech explaining his reasons, but Littlefeather later said that she had been threatened with arrest if she attempted to read the entire speech. She can rest assured that no one will take her bravery that night for granted; and long after her passing, she will continue to be a shining example for others. Brando would later tell talk show host Dick Cavett that the Academy didn't want her there and didn't want the evening interrupted with that particular note. In fact, just minutes before the award was handed out, show producer Howard Koch had told Littlefeather that she needed to keep her comments to 60 seconds. [54] Producer Howard W. Koch, she later said, told her "you can't read all that" in reference to the 739-word speech written by Brando,[55] so she condensed it all into 60 seconds. [5], Littlefeather joined the audience minutes before the award for Best Actor was announced. [18] She learned more about Native American customs from elders and other protesters, like Adam Fortunate Eagle (then known as Adam Nordwall). Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. "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," she added. [27] A 1999 article stated she had developed colon cancer in the early 1990s. The Pascua Yaqui tribe in Arizona told this news organization that Littlefeather wasnt enrolled, while the White Mountain Apache hasnt responded to media inquiries about her membership. [109][110] She campaigned against obesity, alcoholism, and diabetes, and specifically assisted Native Americans with AIDS. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Her research, which included records going back to 1850, uncovered no ties between the Cruz family of Mexico and the White Mountain Apache and Yaqui tribes. [108] Around this same time period, Littlefeather worked at the Gift of Love AIDS hospice in San Francisco, which was founded in 1988 by Mother Teresa, and had the opportunity to meet Mother Teresa during at least one of her five visits to the facility before her death in 1997. [9][8] Geroldine Cruz continued to operate the business after her husband's death in 1966. Trouble was brewing even before Littlefeather arrived at the podium. She continued her social justice work for Native Americans from her home in the San Francisco Bay area and worked as an advocate for Native American AIDS patients. Martha Ross is a Bay Area News Group features writer for The Mercury News and East Bay Times who covers everything and anything related to popular culture, society, health, womens issues and families. In 1973, riding high off the success ofThe Godfather, actor Marlon Brando used his platform to give a voice to Native Americans.