Almost 50 years after being booed on the Oscars stage for refusing an award, on behalf of Marlon Brando, in protest of Hollywood's treatment of Native Americans, Sacheen Littlefeather was honored Saturday by the Academy of Arts and film science.
During a moving ceremony in Los Angeles, punctuated by dances and Native American songs, the Academy issued a public apology to Sacheen Littlefeather, once celebrated by activists for her approach but ostracized by film professionals.
Read alsoThe Academy of Oscars continues to open up to women and minorities
Sacheen Littlefeather, who is Apache and Yaqui, had been shouted down at the 1973 ceremony as she explained why Marlon Brando, whom she portrayed in her absence, could not accept his Best Actor Oscar for
The Godfather
due to "
treatment of American Indians today by the motion picture industry
”.
To an audience that came in large numbers to the Oscars museum, the actress told, this Saturday, September 17, of being then “
up on stage, like a proud Indian woman, with dignity, with courage, with grace and with humility.
I knew I had to tell the truth.
Some people could accept it.
And some don't
."
Sacheen Littlefeather said Western star John Wayne had to be stopped from physically attacking her as she left the stage.
Then a member of the Screen Actors' Guild, the union of film professionals, the actress was then prevented from getting contracts in Hollywood, the casting directors having been dissuaded from hiring her.
Former Academy President David Rubin, who had already apologized to her in June, took to the stage, citing the “
emotional burden
” carried by the Native American activist and “
the cost to her own career.
For too long, the courage you have shown has gone unrecognized.
For it,
The apology comes as the movie industry grapples with what many see as a culture of sexism, racism and impunity.
“
The academy and our industry are at an inflection point
,” said David Rubin.
The Oscars museum, which opened in September 2021, is committed to addressing
the "problematic history
" of the institution, including racism.
An exhibition deals with the harassment suffered by the actress.
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