On October 2 of this year, Sacheen Littlefeather, most remembered for appearing on Marlon Brando’s behalf to decline his Best Actor Academy Award for The Godfather, passed away. According to Sacheen’s younger siblings, she lied about her ethnicity.
Littlefeather protested Hollywood’s attitude toward Native Americans by attending the 1973 Oscars ceremony dressed in traditional attire. Later, she claimed that the industry had banned her.
According to her sisters, who claimed this in the story. She was half-Mexican. She added that They didn’t grow up with a violent father or in extreme poverty.
Sacheen Littlefeather Sisters says she lied about Native Ancestry:
Orlandi and Rosalind Cruz, two of Littlefeather’s sisters, sought Native American activist and journalist Jacqueline Keeler to share their tale. “It is a fraud,” Cruz said. Orlandi added, “It’s disgusting to the heritage of the tribal people. And it’s just insulting to my parents. It’s a lie.”
Littlefeather identified as both White Mountain Apache and Yaqui Indian throughout her life. Her sisters, however, claimed to be Spanish, and their family had no ties to any tribal identity while speaking to Native American writer Jacqueline Keeler.
Sacheen Littlefeather family
Littlefeather was born Maria Louise Cruz to parents Manuel Ybarra Cruz and Gertrude Barnitz in Salinas, California, in 1946, according to Keeler’s investigation into the actress’ lineage. As Keeler pointed out, “I found no recorded links between her extended family and any existent Native American countries in the United States during my research of her father’s side of the family tree, where she claimed her Native origin.”
Orlandi and Cruz said that they spoke out against their sister because they wanted to clear the identities of their parents. Littlefeather’s sisters were also not informed of her passing or given invitations to her burial.
Sacheen disliked who she was; she disliked being Mexican,” stated Orlandi. So, yeah, playing a different character was better for her. Cruz said, “The greatest way I can think of, to sum up, my sister is that she built a dream. She “died in a dream,” just as she had lived in one.”
In its most recent apologies to Littlefeather, the Academy stated, “Your emotional toll and the damage it has done to your career in our sector are both irreversible. The heroism you have shown has gone unrecognized for far too long. We sincerely apologize for this and express our appreciation for you.”
