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Sacheen Littlefeather is a Native American activist who donned Apache dress and presented a speech on behalf of actor Marlon Brando, for his performance in The Godfather, when he boycotted the 45th Academy Awards ceremony on March 27, 1973, in protest of the treatment of Native Americans by the film industry. Littlefeather was born Marie Louise Cruz November 14, 1946, Salinas, California, U.S.). Littlefeather's heritage includes Apache, Yaqui, Pueblo, and European ancestry. On her official website, she states her father was from the White Mountain Apache and Yaqui tribes from Arizona and... MORE

Sacheen Littlefeather is a Native American activist who donned Apache dress and presented a speech on behalf of actor Marlon Brando, for his performance in The Godfather, when he boycotted the 45th Academy Awards ceremony on March 27, 1973, in protest of the treatment of Native Americans by the film industry. Littlefeather was born Marie Louise Cruz November 14, 1946, Salinas, California, U.S.). Littlefeather's heritage includes Apache, Yaqui, Pueblo, and European ancestry. On her official website, she states her father was from the White Mountain Apache and Yaqui tribes from Arizona and that "Cruz" is her father's recognized tribe name. A member of Indians of All Tribes, Littlefeather had participated in the occupation of Alcatraz Island by American Indians' rights activists in 1969. Marlon Brando became involved with the American Indian Movement (AIM) in the early 1970s. In 1973, he decided to make a statement about the Wounded Knee Incident and contacted AIM about providing a person to accept the Oscar for him. Dennis Banks and Russell Means picked Sacheen Littlefeather. She represented Brando and his boycott of the Best Actor Oscar for The Godfather (1972), as a way to protest LESS