Sacheen Littlefeather is a Native American civil right activist and actress who was Marlon Brando’s representative at the 45th Academy Awards in 1973.
Littlefeather declined the Best Actor award given to Marlon for his performance in The Godfather.
Marlon, the favorite to win, boycotted the ceremony in order to protest Hollywood’s portrayal of Native Americans and to bring attention to the Wounded Knee standoff. The audience booed and applauded during Sacheen’s speech in response to Marlon’s boycott.
The Academy sent her an apology letter in June 2022, which she read aloud at An Evening with Sacheen Littlefeather on September 17.
What Is Actress Sacheen Littlefeather Ethnicity?
Sacheen Littlefeather is the daughter of a Native American father and a European American mother.
The actress became involved in the Native American activist community during the Alcatraz occupation in 1969. Sacheen appears to be of Caucasian descent.
She went to North Salinas High School from 1960 to 1964 and was involved in 4-H, winning awards in categories such as food preservation and fashion.
The civil rights activist went to Hartnell Junior College after high school and majored in elementary education. Littlefeather relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1969 to pursue a modeling career, armed with a portfolio of photographs taken by Kenneth Cook of Cook’s Photography.
While studying dramatics and speech at California State University, Sacheen continued to investigate her Native American identity.
Native American Activist Sacheen Littlefeather’s Family Background
Sacheen Littlefeather was born on November 14, 1946. Her mother, Geroldine Marie Barnitz was a leather stamper of German, French, and Dutch ancestry who was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California.
Her father, Manuel Ybarra Cruz was of White Mountain Apache and Yaqui ancestry and was born in Oxnard, California. Her parents were both saddlemakers.
Her mother learned the trade from Leo Leonard, and her father learned as a child in San Francisco. By 1949, her parents had relocated to Salinas and established “Cruz Saddlery.” Geroldine ran the company after her father died in 1966.
Sacheen has spoken about her difficult childhood in interviews. The actress stated in a 1974 interview that her mother abandoned her father when she was four years old and moved her to live with her maternal grandparents.
The civil rights activist stated in 1988 that her parents lived next door to her maternal grandparents, Marie and Gerold “Barney” Barnitz, with her two younger sisters.
Is Sacheen Littlefeather an Indigenous American?
Yes, Sacheen Littlefeather is an indigenous Native American. Littlefeather joined the United Bay Indian Council in 1969.
The actress participated in the Alcatraz occupation in 1970, but because she was a student, she was unable to live on the island full-time, so she adopted the alias Sacheen Littlefeather.
Sacheen is a Navajo word that means “little bear,” according to her. Elders and other protesters, such as Adam Fortunate Eagle, taught Littlefeather more about Native American traditions. Fortunate Eagle confirmed in an interview following her Academy Awards appearance that she had supported the Alcatraz protest.
On March 6, 1973, Littlefeather attended a meeting about minority representation on television between the Federal Communications Commission and representatives from several minority groups.
In an interview published just before her Academy Awards appearance, the civil rights activist stated that she helped send two Indian nurses to Wounded Knee and that she, along with seven other Native Americans, had given up their US citizenship.