The film that sealed the infallibility of Brando’s career simultaneously ended Littlefeather’s (viaDeadline).
Now, almost a half-century after the controversy, the Academy has issued a long-overdue apology to Littlefeather.
“You are forever respectfully engrained in our history.”
she joked (viaIndependent).
Sacheen Littlefeather was no stranger to racism
Sacheen Littlefeather’s childhood was far from easy.
“I lived in an oxygen tent at the hospital, which kept me alive.”
“It wasn’t a very happy time.
I had too much on my mind,” she said.
During her teens, she also attempted suicide, as she told The Guardian.
“My mom used one restroom and I had to use the other,” she said.
In school, too, derogatory abuses were hurled at her.
But with all people of color" (via LAist).
But it wasn’t all rosy as a Native woman looking for a break in Hollywood.
“The movie industry basically looked like a Clorox factory.
I mean, it was so white,” Littlefeather toldLAist.
Brando was one of the few Hollywood heavyweights to visit Alcatraz to express solidarity with the activists.
It took months, but Brando soon made contact with her.
It was reportedlythe first timethe Oscars platform was used to make a sharp political statement.
“He had to be restrained by six security men.”
He was “furious with Marlon and furious with me,” Littlefeather told theBBCin 2020.
Some applause followed; however, backstage, Littlefeather was met with far more hostile feedback.
The Hollywood Reporternoted that some people present that night heckled her, using ululations and offensive signage.
Attendees also reportedly flashed the “tomahawk chop” gesture at Littlefeather (via The Hollywood Reporter).
She was ultimately led away by two security guards (viaKQED).
There was little time to put things together including an outfit.
“I am not a person who owns an evening gown.
And so, Marlon Brando agreed that’s what she should wear.
“[Brando] chose my wardrobe for me,” she revealed in an interview withLAist.
“We lied to them, " he wrote.
“We cheated them out of their lands.
We starved them into signing fraudulent agreements that we called treaties which we never kept.”
The concluding lines read, “Thank you for your kindness and your courtesy to Miss Littlefeather.
Thank you and good night.”
She cited it as one of the reasons behind Marlon Brando’s refusal of his Best Actor award.
The protest was underway whilethe Oscarswere being announced that year.
Aside from the racist abuse she had to endure, the curtain came down on Littlefeather’s acting career.
The activist-actor toldThe Hollywood Reporterthat the Federal government forbade platforms from allowing her on air.
“When I was at the podium in 1973, I stood there alone,” she said.
“I couldn’t get a job to save my life,” she explained.
It wasn’t all in vain though.
Aside from advocacy, Littlefeather managed to secure work in radio.
For this, we offer both our deepest apologies and our sincere admiration.”
“I’m in good company here,” Littlefeather remarked.
Despite her declining health, Littlefeather will participate in aconversation with producer Bird Runningwater.
