Sacheen Littlefeather stunned audience members when she got up onstage at the 1973 Academy Awards ceremony on behalf of Marlon Brando.
The now-75-year-old was booed, laughed at and heckled for refusing Brando’s award for Best Actor in “The Godfather.”
Now, almost 50 years later, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has offered her a formal apology.
“The abuse you endured because of this statement was unwarranted and unjustified,” wrote academy President David Rubin in the note. “The emotional burden you have lived through and the cost to your own career in our industry are irreparable.
“For too long the courage you showed has been unacknowledged. For this, we offer both our deepest apologies and our sincere admiration,” he continued.
While a letter was sent to Littlefeather in June with a brief apology, an event at the Academy Museum will be held on Sept. 17 for the amends to be read in full.
She will also be a part of a conversation with producer Bird Runningwater, co-chair of the academy’s Indigenous Alliance.
“Regarding the Academy’s apology to me, we Indians are very patient people — it’s only been 50 years! We need to keep our sense of humor about this at all times. It’s our method of survival,” Littlefeather said in a press release on Monday.
“I never thought I’d live to see the day for this program to take place, featuring such wonderful Native performers and Bird Runningwater,” she continued.
Back in 1973 at the 45th Academy Awards, Littlefeather refused to accept Brando’s golden statuette and gave a one-minute speech about Hollywood stereotyping people of Native-American descent. She also touched upon the Wounded Knee protest in South Dakota that was happening at the time.
The address ultimately caused Littlefeather to be boycotted and harassed.
“This is a dream come true. It is profoundly heartening to see how much has changed since I did not accept the Academy Award 50 years ago,” the activist continued in her reflection on Monday. “I am so proud of each and every person who will appear on stage.”
In his statement, Rubin offered a message of hope for Native Americans going forward.
“Today, nearly 50 years later, and with the guidance of the Academy’s Indigenous Alliance, we are firm in our commitment to ensuring indigenous voices — the original storytellers — are visible, respected contributors to the global film community,” he said.
“An Evening With Sacheen Littlefeather” is free to the public; however, guests must register online and reserve their spot.
“We hope you receive this letter in the spirit of reconciliation and as recognition of your essential role in our journey as an organization,” Rubin told Littlefeather in the academy’s statement. “You are forever respectfully engrained in our history.”