Current Events > Academy Apologizes to Sacheen Littlefeather for Her Mistreatment at 1973 Oscars

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Simon_Gruber
08/16/22 12:11:08 PM
#1:


The first time Sacheen Littlefeather encountered the Academy, in 1973, she was booed onstage at the Oscars, heckled with mock ululations and so-called tomahawk chops offstage, and threatened with arrest and physical assault.
Nearly half a century later, she will return to the Academy as an invited guest of honor for an evening of reflection at the Academy Museum, featuring something she never dared to imagine: a formal apology from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
I was stunned. I never thought Id live to see the day I would be hearing this, experiencing this, Littlefeather (Apache/Yaqui/Ariz.), now 75, tells The Hollywood Reporter of receiving the Academys statement, which was first privately presented to her in June. When I was at the podium in 1973, I stood there alone.
Back then, in an instantly historic moment in both Oscars and live television history, a 26-year-old Littlefeather took the stage at Marlon Brandos behest to decline the best actor award (for his role in The Godfather) on his behalf. She had two promises to keep: not to touch the statuette (Brandos instructions), and to keep her comments to 60 seconds (an order from show producer Howard Koch, who told Littlefeather minutes before the award presentation that he had security on hand to arrest her if she went past time).
[Brando] very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award, Littlefeather said in her improvised non-acceptance speech, knowing she would not have time to read from the actors eight typed pages of prepared remarks. And the reasons for this being are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry [the audience begins to boo] excuse me and on television in movie reruns, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee. (A month before the ceremony, the activist organization American Indian Movement had occupied the South Dakota town of Wounded Knee to protest the sustained mistreatment of Native Americans, a standoff that at the time of Littlefeathers televised appearance at the Oscars was under a U.S. Department of Justice-imposed media blackout.)
Littlefeathers 60-second plea for justice resulted in immediate and enduring personal backlash. She says that in the wings, John Wayne had to be restrained from storming the stage to physically attack her, while in the aftermath, her identity and integrity were impugned (the rumors were so abiding that in 2012, Dennis Miller mocked Elizabeth Warren by calling her as much Indian as that stripper chick Brando sent to pick up his Oscar). Littlefeather, who had acted in a few films before her infamous moment, says that the federal government threatened to shut down any talk shows or productions that put her on the air.
The abuse you endured because of this statement was unwarranted and unjustified, then-Academy president David Rubin wrote in the organizations apology letter, dated June 18. The emotional burden you have lived through and the cost to your own career in our industry are irreparable. For too long the courage you showed has been unacknowledged. For this, we offer both our deepest apologies and our sincere admiration.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/sacheen-littlefeather-oscars-apology-1235198863/

Her original speech from 1973:

https://youtu.be/2QUacU0I4yU
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SauI_Goodman
08/16/22 12:15:46 PM
#2:


Marlon brando standup guy.

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Solar_Crimson
08/16/22 12:17:08 PM
#3:


Absolutely disgraceful. Glad that they're finally apologizing for her, but it's appalling that it happened to begin with, even with a grown man wanting to physically attack her.

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CableZL
08/16/22 12:22:49 PM
#4:


Wow, dude. It's amazing that people get personally offended when marginalized people talk about their issues.

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Everyonedies
08/16/22 12:25:16 PM
#5:


I think Clint Eastwood mocked her later that night too while presenting best picture.

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DipDipDiver
08/16/22 12:26:40 PM
#6:


I wonder if she threw a party when John Wayne died 6 years later
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masterpug53
08/16/22 12:33:44 PM
#7:


For a time I unfortunately bought into the lie that the whole thing was a hoax (I didn't look very deep into the incident, but it seemed plausible considering Brando's history of being a practical joker). Good that an attempt at amends is being made.

EDIT and yeah, I'm not surprised that John Wayne had to be restrained. He once threatened Dennis Hopper with a gun on the set of True Grit because he was convinced Hopper had talked his daughter into attending a Black Panthers speech.

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__aCEr__
08/16/22 12:35:55 PM
#8:


One of the many reasons why John Wayne was a terrible person.

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CyricZ
08/16/22 12:40:47 PM
#9:


*checks watch*

Well.

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#10
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Jagr_68
08/16/22 1:20:34 PM
#11:


masterpug53 posted...
EDIT and yeah, I'm not surprised that John Wayne had to be restrained. He once threatened Dennis Hopper with a gun on the set of True Grit because he was convinced Hopper had talked his daughter into attending a Black Panthers speech.

Too bad because I would've loved knowing psychotic Dennis Hopper put an old ass white supremacist in ICU.

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Doe
08/16/22 1:22:19 PM
#12:


Simon_Gruber posted...
a standoff that at the time of Littlefeathers televised appearance at the Oscars was under a U.S. Department of Justice-imposed media blackout
Wait what, the DOJ can do that???

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Smashingpmkns
08/16/22 1:26:08 PM
#13:


John Wayne desperately needed an ass whooping

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K181
08/16/22 1:29:06 PM
#14:


Should've apologized decades ago.

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masterpug53
08/16/22 1:48:38 PM
#15:


Jagr_68 posted...
Too bad because I would've loved knowing psychotic Dennis Hopper put an old ass white supremacist in ICU.

According to the interview, Hopper hid in Glen Campbell's trailer until things blew over. I don't blame him, John Wayne was a big dude with a nasty temper and a (presumably) loaded gun. Plus it was John Fucking Wayne; even if Hopper had successfully knocked him on his ass it probably would've ended Hopper's career.

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MagnusDJL
08/16/22 1:57:41 PM
#16:


I guess these people never heard of the saying "don't shoot the messenger"
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TomClark
08/16/22 2:02:51 PM
#17:


49 years too late.

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gunplagirl
08/18/22 1:00:08 PM
#18:


It changed the trajectory of her entire life, a mere apology with nothing else is worthless.

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Boombam99
08/18/22 1:05:05 PM
#19:


John Wayne was such a pos
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gunplagirl
08/18/22 1:07:06 PM
#20:


Boombam99 posted...
John Wayne was such a pos
https://youtu.be/SoyusTUFdl0

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Naysaspace
08/18/22 1:07:17 PM
#21:


Damn theyre really trying to be creative to drum up ratings
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DipDipDiver
08/18/22 1:09:00 PM
#22:


gunplagirl posted...
It changed the trajectory of her entire life, a mere apology with nothing else is worthless.
Yeah and it makes me think a little less of Brando too. I mean obviously his heart was in the right place but he had to know what she was walking into
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Background_Guy
08/18/22 1:09:25 PM
#23:


Is she not a Bigfeather now?
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Questionmarktarius
08/18/22 1:09:49 PM
#24:


Naysaspace posted...
Damn theyre really trying to be creative to drum up ratings
Whatever. Everyone is still going to ignore the oscars, and just watch the relevant bit on youtube.
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Background_Guy
08/18/22 1:11:37 PM
#25:


Questionmarktarius posted...
Whatever. Everyone is still going to ignore the oscars, and just watch the relevant bit on youtube.
They should let Sacheen slap Chris Rock at the next Oscars
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McMarbles
08/18/22 1:22:53 PM
#26:


Background_Guy posted...
They should let Sacheen slap Chris Rock at the next Oscars
They should make it an annual thing. The "Slap Chris Rock" award.

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spikethedevil
08/18/22 1:28:24 PM
#27:


Background_Guy posted...
Is she not a Bigfeather now?

Not how Native American naming traditions work.

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#28
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