She had been hooked in 1973 during the Hollywood ceremony during which the star asked her to refuse the statuette for him in protest against the treatment of the Amerindians by the film industry.
Le Monde with AFP
Sacheen Littlefeather, the Amerindian actress and activist who, in 1973, had been hooted when she refused an Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brando, died at the age of 75, announced the institution on Sunday October 2.
In the message on Twitter announcing its death, the Academy of Oscars cited Sacheen Littlefeather herself: “When I have left, always remember that each time you defend your truth, you will keep my voice alive and the voices of our nations and our peoples. “
Sacheen Littlefeather, native American Civil Rights Activist Who Famously Declined Marlon Brando’s 1973 Best Actor… https://t.co/ctfervsbum
Two weeks ago, the Academy of Oscars organized a ceremony in its new Los Angeles museum to pay tribute to Sacheen Littlefeather and present public excuses for the treatment she had suffered during the Oscar ceremony Almost fifty years ago.
Sacheen Littlefeather, who is Apache and Yaqui, had been hoan at the 1973 Oscar ceremony – the first to be broadcast live worldwide – when she explained in the name of Brando why he did not want Accept his Oscar for best actor for the godfather. The star had asked Littlefeather to refuse the prize for him in protest against the treatment of Amerindians by the film industry.
John Wayne would have gripped him
“I went there, like a proud Indian woman, with dignity, courage, grace and humility,” said Sacheen Littlefeather during the museum ceremony. “I knew I had to tell the truth. Some people can accept it. And others not.”
She said that we had to prevent the Western star John Wayne from attacking her physically while she was leaving the scene.
Sacheen Littlefeather, member of the Screen Actors Guild – first union of cinema actors founded in 1933 -, then had trouble finding work in Hollywood, the casting directors being warned not to use it.
Questioned by journalists before the ceremony on what she felt for waiting so long for receiving excuses, M me Littlefeather had shown himself philosopher.
“It is never too late for excuses. It is never too late for forgiveness,” she replied.