(Washington) Sacheen Littlefeather, the actress and Indigenous activist who in 1973 was booed when she refused an Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brando, has died at the age of 75, the Academy of Oscars has announced sunday.
Posted at 12:14 a.m.
In his Twitter post announcing his passing, the Academy quoted Littlefeather as saying: “When I’m gone, always remember that every time you stand up for your truth, you will keep my voice and the voices of our nations alive. and our peoples.
Two weeks ago, the Academy held a ceremony at its new museum in Los Angeles to honor Littlefeather and publicly apologize for the treatment she suffered at the Academy Awards nearly 50 years ago. year.
Littlefeather, who is Apache and Yaqui, was booed at the 1973 Academy Awards — the first to be broadcast live around the world — as she explained on Brando’s behalf why he wouldn’t accept his Oscar from best actor for The Godfather.
Brando had asked Littlefeather to refuse the award for him in protest at the film industry’s treatment of Native people.
“I went there, like a proud indigenous woman, with dignity, courage, grace and humility,” said Littlefeather during the ceremony at the museum. “I knew I had to tell the truth. Some people can accept it. And some don’t. »
She said it was necessary to stop veteran western star John Wayne from physically assaulting her as she left the stage.
Littlefeather, a member of the Screen Actors Guild — the first union for film actors founded in 1933 — then struggled to find work in Hollywood, with casting executives being warned not to employ him.
Asked by reporters ahead of the ceremony how she felt about waiting so long to receive an apology, Ms.me Littlefeather had been a philosopher.
“It’s never too late for an apology. It’s never too late for forgiveness,” she replied.