Sacheen Littlefeather, Native American Activist Who Declined Brando’s Oscar, Dies At 75

Actress and activist Sacheen Littlefeather has died. In 1973, Sacheen Littlefeather stood on the Academy Awards stage and declined the Oscar won by Marlon Brando. Littlefeather called out the motion picture industry’s mistreatment and stereotypical portrayals of Indigenous people. But backlash from the Oscars cost her her budding film career. She went on to co-found a Native American theater company and continued to advocate for Indiginous people in the arts and health care.