Sacheen Littlefeather, who turned down an Academy Award on behalf of Marlon Brando, will receive a formal apology from the Academy at an event next month.
(CNN) --
Sacheen Littlefeather had just 60 seconds to speak at the 1973 Academy Awards. In her brief speech, she turned down the best actor Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brando, faced a mix of loud boos and cheers, and defended American Indian rights on national television.
Nearly 50 years later, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences formally apologizes to Littlefeather for the mistreatment she suffered during her speech and in the years that followed.
"The abuse he endured because of this statement was unwarranted," former Academy president David Rubin wrote in a letter to Littlefeather.
"The emotional toll he has endured and the cost to his own career in our industry are irreparable. For too long the courage he displayed has gone unrecognized. For this, we offer him our deepest apologies and sincere admiration."
Littlefeather will appear at the Academy Film Museum next month to discuss her historic appearance at the Oscars and the future of Indigenous representation on screen, the Academy said.
Littlefeather (seated centre), pictured in 2019, called the event in her honor a "dream come true".
In a statement, Littlefeather called the upcoming event, during which she will receive the apology in person, "a dream come true."
"Regarding the Academy's apology to me, we indigenous people are very patient people, it's only been 50 years!" he said.
"We need to keep our sense of humor about this at all times. It's our method of survival."
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Several indigenous artists will perform during the event for Littlefeather, including Bird Runningwater, co-chair of the Academy's Indigenous Alliance, and Virginia Carmelo, a descendant of the Tongva people who will lead a land survey.
"It's deeply encouraging to see how much has changed since I didn't accept the Academy Award 50 years ago," Littlefeather said.
His speech earned boos and applause.
When Brando won best actor for his leading role in "The Godfather," he was absent.
Instead, he asked Littlefeather, then an actress and activist, to attend the ceremony and decline the award on her behalf.
Taking the stage quietly and calmly in a suede dress, Littlefeather solemnly introduced herself as an Apache woman and chairwoman of the National Committee for the Affirmative Image of Native Americans.
"(Brando) unfortunately cannot accept this very generous award, and the reasons for this are the treatment of Native Americans by the film industry today," she said to a mix of boos and applause, pausing and looking visibly upset.
"I pray at this time that I have not intruded on this night, and that, in the future, our hearts and understandings meet with love and generosity."
Littlefeather said that he promised Brando that he would not touch the statuette.
Brando also refused to accept the award because of the federal response to Wounded Knee, when members of the American Indian Movement occupied the South Dakota town but were met with resistance from federal law enforcement.
Littlefeather said that she promised Brando that he would not touch the Oscar statuette, he said.
"I focused on the gaping mouths and jaws in the audience, and there were quite a few," he told the Academy's official blog, A.Frame.
"But it was like looking at a sea of Clorox, you know, there were very few people of color in the audience."
She also said that John Wayne, the conservative Western star who once said "the indigenous people were selfishly trying to keep (America) to themselves," confronted her "to get her off the stage," though he was restrained by guards. of security.
After the ceremony, Littlefeather said that she was "silenced" and that she struggled to find work in the film industry.
She devoted much of her post-Oscar career to activism and founding performing arts organizations for indigenous actors.
Despite the condemnation he received from some in Hollywood who disagreed with his defenses of Native Americans, Littlefeather said he received praise and support from leaders such as Coretta Scott King and Cesar Chavez.
"I knew I did the right thing," he told A.Frame.
Marlon Brando