Sacheen Littlefeather

Lore & Background

Littlefeather was born to Geroldine Marie Cruz, a leather stamper of French, German, and Dutch descent, and Manuel Ybarra Cruz, a saddlemaker of Mexican descent. She attended North Salinas High School and Hartnell Junior College, studying elementary education. She later studied dramatics and speech at California State College at Hayward. Around age 19, she spent a year in a psychiatric hospital, where she was diagnosed with schizophrenia. In 1969, she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, joined the United Bay Indian Council, and adopted the name Sacheen Littlefeather, saying her father had called her Sacheen before his death and that the feather she wore inspired the surname.

At the 1973 Academy Awards, Littlefeather appeared onstage to decline the Best Actor Oscar won by Marlon Brando for The Godfather. The audience's response was divided between booing and applause. After the speech, she worked in hospice care and continued activism for Native American healthcare and unemployment. She also produced films about Native Americans. In June 2022, the Academy sent her a statement of apology, read in full at An Evening with Sacheen Littlefeather on September 17, two weeks before her death.

Littlefeather claimed her father had White Mountain Apache and Yaqui ancestry, but after her death, her two sisters stated the family is not Native American and that their father was of Spanish-Mexican descent with no tribal ties. Researchers confirmed no known ancestors with a tribal identity in Mexico or connection to the Yaqui or White Mountain Apache tribes. Her participation in the occupation of Alcatraz in 1970 was also disputed.

Reader's Guide

Sacheen Littlefeather's significance lies in her 1973 Academy Awards appearance, which brought national attention to Native American representation in Hollywood and the standoff at Wounded Knee. Her speech, delivered on behalf of Marlon Brando, sparked both applause and boos, highlighting the contentious nature of political protest in entertainment. After the Oscars, she continued activism focused on Native American healthcare and unemployment, and produced films about Native Americans. The Academy's 2022 apology acknowledged the mistreatment she faced. However, posthumous accusations from her sisters and journalists that she fabricated her Native American ancestry have complicated her legacy, raising questions about identity and authenticity in activism. Her story remains a touchstone for discussions of racial representation, protest, and the ethics of claiming Indigenous heritage.

Did You Know?

• Littlefeather was named Miss Vampire USA in 1970 as 'Sacheen Littlefeather of Alcatraz'.
• She posed for Playboy in 1973 after the magazine cancelled a planned spread called '10 Little Indians'.
• Her mother and father were both saddlemakers who operated Cruz Saddlery in Salinas.
• She said she chose the name Sacheen because that was what her father called her before he died.