Sacheen Littlefeather – the Native American activist renowned for declining Marlon Brando’s Oscar for “The Godfather” and who died earlier this month – was not in fact Native American, her sisters have claimed, according to writer Jacqueline Keeler.
In an Oct.Opinion columnin the San Francisco Chronicle by Keeler – an Indigenous writer who has been investigating individuals she suspects of falsely claiming Native identity since 2021 – Littlefeather’s biological siblings Rosalind Cruz and Trudy Orlandi said that the actress and Native American civil rights icon falsified her Apache and Yaqui heritage.
“It is a fraud,” Cruz said. “It’s disgusting to the heritage of the tribal people. And it’s just … insulting to my parents.”
Littlefeather was born Maria Louise Cruz to a Mexican mother and Mexican father in 1946. According to Orlandi, their father – who Littlefeather claimed was a member of the White Mountain Apache and Yaqui tribes – was born in Oxnard, California, to Mexican immigrants.
Littlefeather died without any contact from the sisters.
“Sacheen did not like herself. She didn’t like being Mexican,”Orlandi, the older sister, stated this. “So, yes, it was better for her that way to play someone else.”
Cruz added “The best way that I could think of summing up my sister is that she created a fantasy. She lived in a fantasy, and she died in a fantasy.”
Also, Littlefeather was accused of falsifying financial records. “violent” “impoverished”Since the 1970s, when she started publicly identifying herself as Native American, she has been a part of her childhood. She described living in a “strange place” during several interviews. “shack”Witnessing her father, an alcoholic, abuse her mother. Orlandi and Cruz refute this story, noting that their father Manuel Ybarra Cruz abused them as children.
#NotYourMascot co-founder Jacqueline Keeler wrote that she began her investigation into Littlefeather’s background after she added Littlefeather to her public list of “Alleged Pretendians,”This prompted them to reach out.
Keeler said her investigation of Littlefeather’s father’s side of the family did not reveal any documentation of a connection. She found that all of Littlefeather’s paternal ancestors dating back to the 1880s identified as white, Caucasian or Mexican. White Mountain Apache tribal officials also did not find any records about Littlefeather and her family.
Marlon Brando refused Littlefeather his Oscar in 1973 for his performance in “The Godfather” as an act of protest against the entertainment industry’s portrayal of Native Americans.
Littlefeather’s speech was met with boos, jeers, and subsequent harassment and abuse, leading the Academy to apologize to her 50 years later. The Academy hosted a dinner on Sept. 17, 2022. “An Evening With Sacheen Littlefeather” in her honor. The event featured performances of Native American artists, speeches from activists and Academy leadership and an official statement in apology.
A clip of Littlefeather’s Oscars speech is on permanent display at the Academy Museum’s Academy Awards History gallery.
Littlefeather was a member of the Screen Actors’ Guild and a founding member of the Red Earth Indian Theater Company. She was 75 years old when she passed away on October 2, 2009.
A spokesperson from the Academy Museum declined comment. We have reached out to Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as well for their comments.
This is an ongoing story and will be updated with verified information.