Academy Apologizes To Sacheen Littlefeather Over Racist Treatment At 1973 Oscars
15.08.2022 - 21:33
/ etcanada.com
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is making amends.
On Monday, nearly 50 years after actress and Native American activist Sacheen Littlefeather took the stage on behalf of Marlon Brando at the 1973 Oscars to decline his Best Actor award for “The Godfather”, the Academy offered a public apology for her treatment at the ceremony.
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Then just 26-years-old, Littlefeather was the first Native woman ever to stand on the Academy Awards stage, receiving loud boos from the audience, as well as being the target of racial epithets and gestures. She was also threatened with violence offstage.
Littlefeather will also be the guest of honour for a conversation onstage at the Academy Museum on Sept. 17, and is partnering with the museum for a program offering “a reflection aimed at healing.”
Read the full apology letter from the Academy:
STATEMENT OF RECONCILIATION
June 18, 2022
Dear Sacheen Littlefeather,
I write to you today a letter that has been a long time coming on behalf of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, with humble acknowledgment of your experience at the 45th Academy Awards.
As you stood on the Oscars stage in 1973 to not accept the Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brando, in recognition of the misrepresentation and mistreatment of Native American people by the film industry, you made a powerful statement that continues to remind us of the necessity of respect and the importance of human dignity.
The abuse you endured because of this statement was unwarranted and unjustified. 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