Marlon Brando, who won the Oscar for Best Actor for his work in ‘The Godfather’, once sent a native American representative to reject the award on his behalf.
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LOS ANGELES — Legendary actor Marlon Brando, who won the Oscar for Best Actor for his work in ‘The Godfather’, once sent a native American representative to reject the award on his behalf.
An old video of the 45th Academy Awards has resurfaced on the Internet, and it shows Native American activist Sacheen Littlefeather sharing the message of acting legend with the attendees.
She explained that Brando declined the Oscar in protest of Hollywood’s portrayal of Native Americans and in response to the recent events at Wounded Knee, where tensions between the U.S. government and Native American activists had erupted.
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She said, “I'm Apache and I'm President of the National Native American Affirmative Image Committee. I'm representing Marlon Brando this evening and he has asked me to tell you in a very long speech, which I cannot share with you presently because of time, but I will be glad to share with the press afterwards that he very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award”.
“And the reasons for this being are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry, and on television in movie reruns, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee. I beg at this time that I have not intruded upon this evening and that we will in the future, our hearts and our understandings will meet with love and generosity. Thank you on behalf of Marlon Brando”, she added.
Her appearance was met with both applause and boos, becoming one of the most controversial and courageous moments in Oscar history, a reminder that cinema and politics sometimes collide on the world’s biggest stage.
The moment became one of the most controversial in Oscar history, overshadowing the win while reinforcing Brando’s reputation for political stance.