Native American Activist Finally Receives Apology 50 Years Too Late

In a news article recently posted on CBC news online, Native American activist Sacheen Littlefeather was issued a formal apology for the beratement and discrimination she experienced stemming from an appearance at the 1973 American Oscar Awards. "Littlefeather, who is Apache and Yaqui, was just 26 when Brando — her friend and the front-runner for that year's award for his performance as mafia boss Vito Corleone — asked her to attend the ceremony on his behalf and decline the award" (Benchetrit). At that time, the young female activist was prompted to use the opportunity to primarily bring awareness to Indigenous Issues (Benchetrit). Unsurprisingly, Littlefeather received incredible backlash for the appearance, both immediate and spanning many decades, including "people [backstage] making stereotypical war cries at her, and that actor John Wayne tried to lunge at her while she spoke onstage" (Benchetrit). Nearly fifty years after the incident, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued a formal apology to Littlefeather, who acknowledged that she was under tremendous pressure and knew "representing all Indigenous voices" was worth it (Benchetrit).

As Thomas King voices in "The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative", and from discussions in class, there is a real issue with how society expects Indigenous people to look and act and we experience a discord when this does not match our expectations. As a young female activist, I understand and believe that Littlefeather was prompted by Brando to use the highly publicized opportunity to bring awareness to Indigenous issues, largely including the discrimination and disenfranchisement of the Indigenous population in America, and stereotypical representation in film (Benchetrit). However, employing a very young, attractive, albeit very educated and informed, Indigenous woman as a prop of sorts to speak publicly on the issue put Littlefeather in a line of fire for her actions. I feel that Brando was obviously justified in bringing awareness to such an important issue, but the stereotype of the sexualized and exotic Indigenous women, reinforced by Littlefeather's outward appearance further perpetutated the stereotype rather than provide her the genuine platform that she deserved. Circling back to King's citing, the audience and public who attacked Littlefeather for her appearance did not take her, even as an educated activist, seriously due to the ageism, sexism and racism that was prevalent at that time and clearly still exists today.

Works Cited:
Benchetrit, Jenna. "Sacheen Littlefeather receives apology at Academy event 49 years after Marlon Brando's Oscars protest". 17 Sept. 2022. https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/evening-with-sacheen-littlefeather-oscars-1.6586887.
King, Thomas. The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative. House of Anansi, 2003.

I think this is an interesting take, I actually think Brando sending Little Feather to speak and amplifying a native voice instead of getting on a soapbox himself was quite respectable. However, your post made me think a little harder and I do think it would've been a much wiser decision to at least stand beside her during her speech. I don't think he was dumb enough to realize the backlash it would cause but I also can't say that he would expect the backlash to be as disgusting as it was. But for stereotypes I'm not sure if Little Feathers outward apperance was necessarily a pre planned motive for her to be the one speaking. It seems to me more like she was an actress in hollywood who just so happened to be very attractive and befriended Marlon Brando. What I mean is, Little Feather was probably the only native that Brando knew (which is a whole other problem but that's a different post) however your female perspective on the issue did change my view on this event. I always considered this to be a race issue but I didn't even consider the gender inequality of the time. I appreciate your voice and I'd be curious to hear your thoughts further on this issue!