Littlefeather was just 26 when he appeared on stage as Brando, who won for his performance as Vito Corleone in the godfather If he won, he had asked her not to touch the statue and to read a several-page statement on his behalf. In it, Brando criticized the stereotypes of Native Americans in popular entertainment and called attention to the 1973 Wounded Knee confrontation between Native Americans and the United States Marshals Service.
But producers warned her that if she went over 60 seconds she would be detained for her safety, so she improvised short remarks that were interrupted by boos and some “tomahawk” gestures.
“[Brando] Unfortunately, he cannot accept such a generous award, and the reasons for this being the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry, excuse me, and on television in movie reruns, and also with the recent events at Wounded Knee,” he said.
Later, he read Brando’s text to reporters backstage.
In delivering the historic speech, Littlefeather also became the first Native American woman to take the Oscars stage.
She told The Hollywood Reporter, which was the first to break the news on Monday, that she cried for several minutes after reading the apology letter for the first time nearly half a century since the infamous incident.
“Yes, an apology is due,” he said. “As my friends in the Indigenous community said, it’s been a long time coming.”