Sacheen Littlefeather is a Native American actress and civil rights activist. In 1973, she represented Marlon Brando at the 45th Academy Awards.
Littlefeather didn’t want to give Marlon the best actor award for his role in The Godfather.
Marlon, who was the favorite to win, did not attend the ceremony to protest how Native Americans are portrayed in Hollywood and to draw attention to the stalemate at Wounded Knee. In response to Marlon’s boycott, the crowd booed and cheered during Sacheen’s speech.
In June 2022, the Academy sent her a letter of apology, which she read out on Sacheen Littlefeathers An Evening on September 17.
What kind of person is actress Dingeen Littlefeather?
Sacheen Littlefeather’s father is Native American and her mother is European.
During the occupation of Alcatraz in 1969, the actress became part of a group of Native American activists. Sacheen appears to be of Caucasian background.
She attended North Salinas High School from 1960 to 1964. She was in 4-H and won awards for things like preserving food and making clothes.
After high school, the civil rights activist went to Hartnell Junior College and majored in elementary education. Littlefeather moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1969 to try to be a model. She brought a portfolio of photos by Kenneth Cook from Cook’s Photography.
Sacheen kept exploring who she was as a Native American while studying language and drama at California State University.
The family history of Native American activist Sacheen Littlefeather
On November 14, 1946, Sacheen Littlefeather was born. Her mother, Geroldine Marie Barnitz, was a leather puncher who was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California. She was of German, French, and Dutch descent.
Manuel Ybarra Cruz, her father, was born in Oxnard, California. He was part White Mountain Apache and part Yaqui. Her father and mother both made saddles.
Her father learned the craft as a child in San Francisco, her mother learned it from Leo Leonard. In 1949 her parents moved to Salinas and started a business called Cruz Saddlery. When Geroldine’s father died in 1966, she took over the business.
In interviews, Sacheen has spoken out about how difficult her childhood was. In an interview in 1974, the actress said that her mother left her father when she was four years old and sent her to live with her maternal grandparents.
In 1988, the civil rights activist said her parents and two younger sisters lived next door to her maternal grandparents, Marie and Gerold “Barney” Barnitz.
Is Sacheen Littlefeather based in the United States?
Sacheen Littlefeather is an Indian, that’s true. In 1969 Littlefeather became a member of the United Bay Indian Council.
In 1970, the actress took part in the cast of Alcatraz. However, being a student meant she couldn’t live on the island full-time, so she used the name Sacheen Littlefeather.
She says that Sacheen is a Navajo word meaning “little bear.” Littlefeather learned about Native American traditions from elders and other protesters like Adam Fortunate Eagle. In an interview after her performance at the Oscars, Fortunate Eagle said she helped with the Alcatraz protest.
On March 6, 1973, Littlefeather went to a meeting between the Federal Communications Commission and people from several minority groups to discuss how minorities are portrayed on television.
In an interview published shortly before her Oscar ceremony, the civil rights activist said that she helped send two Indian nurses to Wounded Knee and that she and seven other Indians renounced their US citizenship.