A shocking moment in Oscars history, 50 years on
BBCA shocking moment in Oscars history, 50 years on Getty Images Few Academy Awards ceremonies have been as eventful as the one held in 1973, when Marlon Brando sent Native American activist Sacheen Littlefeather to explain why he was rejecting his award. When the 26-year-old Native American activist came onstage to decline Marlon Brando's Oscar for best actor – awarded to him for his towering performance in The Godfather – it seems all hell broke loose. It's also important to note that the concerns of the American Indian Movement that Littlefeather was part of – a civil rights organisation founded in 1968, only a few years prior to this unforgettable moment in Oscars history – would have been very topical to an audience in 1973. If Littlefeather was actually "Pretendian", as those who falsely claim to be Native American are sometimes called, it may complicate the earnest righteousness of the gesture, and raise questions about how to judge Brando's choice to use her as his mouthpiece.
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Academy Apologizes To Sacheen Littlefeather Nearly 50 Years After Oscars Abuse
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Academy apologizes to Sacheen Littlefeather over 1973 Marlon Brando Oscar incident
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US film academy apologises to Indigenous activist for Oscar abuse
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