Sacheen Littlefeather pretended to be Native American: sisters
“It’s a lie,” sibling Trudy Orlandi told Native American writer and activist Jacqueline Keeler, explaining that their California-born father’s family was in fact Mexican — and Littlefeather’s real name was Maria Louise Cruz.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
And the award for decades-long appropriation goes to…
Sacheen Littlefeather, the late actress and activist who claimed to be of White Mountain Apache heritage and at the 1973 Academy Awards criticized Hollywood's treatment of Native Americans while refusing the best actor Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brando after his win for "The Godfather," in fact spent decades lying about her Native American ancestry, her sisters told The San Francisco Chronicle.
"It's a lie," sibling Trudy Orlandi told Native American writer and activist Jacqueline Keeler, explaining that their California-born father's family was in fact Mexican — and Littlefeather's real name was Maria Louise Cruz.
Marlon Brando shocked the Academy Awards when he refused his Oscar for mobster classic "The Godfather." Instead, he sent indigenous activist Sacheen Littlefeather to refuse the award and give her a platform to protest the treatment of Native Americans in Hollywood, and more importantly, bring attention to the standoff between federal agents and Native Americans at Wounded Knee that was under a media blackout. (NBC)
"It is a fraud," echoed sister Rosalind Cruz. "It's disgusting to the heritage of the tribal people. And it's just … insulting to my parents."
As far as Orlandi and Cruz are aware, the family has no tribal identity nor Native American or American Indian ancestry and describe their paternal side as "Spanish."
Activist and actress Sacheen Littlefeather takes part in a panel discussion on the PBS special "Reel Injun" at the PBS Television Critics Association summer press tour in Beverly Hills, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 5, 2010. (Chris Pizzello/AP)
Regarding Littlefeather's potential motive, Orlandi said the "The Trial of Billy Jack" actress found it "more prestigious to be an American Indian than it was to be Hispanic."
"She didn't like being Mexican. So, yes, it was better for her that way to play someone else," she explained.
Littlefeather was on the list of "Pretendians," those who falsely adopted or were suspected of having falsely adopted "Native identities for personal gain" Keeler began compiling early last year.
Sacheen Littlefeather appears at the Academy Awards ceremony to announce that Marlon Brando was declining his Oscar as best actor for his role in "The Godfather," on March 27, 1973. (Associated Press/AP)
In addition to her ancestry — which she later claimed included Yaqui heritage — Littlefeather's alleged lies also included those about her father's abuse, the family living in poverty without so much as a toilet, and the Navajo Nation supposedly ascribing her "Indian" name.
"My father was deaf and he had lost his hearing at 9 years old through meningitis," Cruz said. "He was born into poverty. His father, George Cruz, was an alcoholic who was violent and used to beat him. … My sister Sacheen took what happened to him."
Orlandi noted that the siblings' grandfather indeed "was the alcoholic. My dad never drank. My dad never smoked."
The sisters believe Littlefeather, who they called "Deb," got her "Indian" name from the Sacheen Ribbon Co., which made the thread they used to make clothes as children.
Littlefeather was 75 when she died in early October, just months after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued an apology for the treatment she received for refusing Brando's Oscar for him. She was roundly booed during her speech and claimed to have been blacklisted by Hollywood.
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I honestly wish that I did not learn this today.
actress found it "more prestigious to be an American Indian than it was to be Hispanic."
Oppression chic isn't a new phenomena.
Sometimes our world is moved along by the words and deeds of people who are frauds but imagine themselves with a role in history that they ultimately end up fulfilling.
Thomas Jefferson said, "all men are created equal," yet he owned slaves that he did not treat or regard as equals. In the very same Declaration of Independence he actually blamed England for forcing a system of slavery upon the American colonies. Puh-lease. He fathered children with a slave who had no choice in the matter. George Washington freed his slaves upon his death. Jefferson did not.
But we would not be the nation we are today without the founding principles enumerated in the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson.
It seems that Sacheen Littlefeather was not native American and had no reason to believe she was. On the other hand she was a dedicated activist. The racism she was subjected to in her profession is not mitigated by the fact that she was not of the race Hollywood thought she was.
We live in a world where there are facts and there are truths. Sometimes the facts and the truths are not the same. Facts are things that encyclopedias and almanacs accumulate.
Truths are things that are known to the heart.
Lemme se - 2022 minus 1973 equals 49 - 49 years ago, little sissy had no issues but now she needs attention???
The facts in this story were dug up by a journalist who sought out the family as opposed to the family seeking out the journalist.
So Littlefeather was already on this list of Pretendians when the Oscars apologized to her?
This is why I try to ignore the Oscars and the Nobel Prizes.
“Brando should have attended the event and said whatever he wanted to say about Native Americans instead of send an unknown young lady.
There is some irony now know the end of the story, an actor sent an actor who dressed the part and delivered the script in character.
Apparently, she lived her whole adult life in character.
A few interesting facts about the “deep” lineage of Mexicans, going back on paternal and maternal lines over thousands of years using mtDNA and yDNA tests:
Mexican Native American DNA? - Who are You Made Of?
So basically, the siblings are saying they aren't "aware" of any Native American heritage but consider themselves Mexican and describe their paternal ancestry as Spanish. Considering that 85-90% of Mexicans have a maternal lineage showing Native American roots I'd say there's a good chance Sacheen Littlefeather does have Native American roots, but likely not the roots she believed or expressed that she had.
Sadly, this story will no doubt play into the narratives of those desperate to show the struggles for equal rights of minorities to be 'fraudulent' or something to be doubted so they don't have to feel guilty having no empathy for those who have truly struggled under hundreds of years of oppression.
The fact is regardless of her heritage, the point she made at the Oscars was valid. Hollywood had been portraying Native Americans as a racist stereotype since cinema was first invented. What she did at the Oscars did bring attention to an injustice.
Also, this seed makes it seem like her birth name was some kind of secret:
Of course, the fact is she never hid her birth name.
Sacheen Littlefeather, who declined Brando's Oscar, dies at 75 : NPR
Also, those 'booing' at the Oscars thought they were 'booing' a Native American actress, so whether or not she does or does not have Native American ancestry really make no difference as to the racism displayed that day and the apology from the Acadamy was still warranted.
The sister has had 50 years to tell this story. Now a month after she dies it comes out.
In the past she said her name was Cruz, that is not a surprise.
She claimed to be Apache and Yaqui on her father's side, which is certainly possible since both of those tribes live in Mexico as well as the US..
To my knowledge, the White Mountain Apache never disputed her claim.
If her father is Mexican then the chances are that he is Mestizo or some other combo and all of them have indigenous blood. Only 10% of Mexicans are white. I posted an article on this and how indigenous are treated in Mexico.
All that said I don't know what the story is with her, but I have some hesitation in declaring her a fraud. Her speech at the Oscars pretty much ended her career. Indigenous or not she was treated like shit and the booing at the Oscars was only the beginning.
As for Brando, he was a lifelong advocate for Indians and spent a few days in jail supporting the tribes in the ''Fish Wars'' in the PNW.
1973 was a huge year if you were indigenous, ''The Siege at Wounded Knee'' was taking place and that was why Brando refused the Oscar and Littlefeather made the speech.
There is a long list of people declaring that they are Indians that are actually wannabes, and some of them made a very good living being imposters.
The Indian that did the commercials for the environment in the 70s, Iron Eyes Cody was no Indian he was 100% Italian his name was Espera Oscar de Corti.
Keeler and her imposter list are highly controversial in the indigenous community. A parody website lists her and like-minded natives as “Karendians.”
Sisters, didn't both accuse her of fraud?
Did they ever support her claim?
Wasn't it Brando's script?
If you know the answer you should post it.
Not to my knowledge,
You should read your own link.
This is my comment in my above post.
Best you address the article instead of wasting time with inane questions.
I don't know the answer, I only know what I read in the SF Chronicle. I'll post that again.
Sisters, didn't both accuse her of fraud?
50 years AFTER it happened and ONLY after she passed on.
Did they ever support her claim?
They only verified that she was not a member of the Tribe, not that she wasn't White Mountain Apache.
50 years, didn't her NA impersonation continue until her death last month?
So that's a no, they never supported her claim.
Yes it did, and the "sisters" NEVER said a word about it during that 50 years. So, were they supporting her or just being complacent?
She never claimed to be a "Tribal Member" - her claim was that she had White Mountain Apache bloodlines - huge difference.
Maybe they didn't want to embarrass her. Do you think these sisters are ashamed of their NA heritage?
Yes, she claimed Apache and Pascua Yaqui heritage, did Marie Louise Cruz also claim Hispanic heritage?
now THATS gonna take a few drinks to get that mental picture to go away , native american "karens "....the irish side just shouted "jaysus cryst "....
The other question, for me is why is there no mention of their mother's ancestry, They discuss their father's ancestry" and his history.
What about their mother ?
Littlefea ther ’ s sisters both said in separate interviews that they have no known Native American/American Indian ancestry. They identified as “ Spanish” on their father ’ s side and insisted their family had no claims to a tribal identity.
It's not really that surprising.
The sisters never hatched a plan to pass themselves off as indigenous but they cared too much for their sister to throw her under the bus while she was alive.
If it is true that there was no reason for Sacheen Littlefeather to view herself as indigenous then her ..scam.. (drawing a blank for a better word) was something her sisters were involuntarily drawn into. They spent 50 years committing a lie of omission to protect her.
The only reason I am in any way up to speed on this story is because it got talked about here on Newstalkers. And I simply stumbled up this latest turn when I was perusing my hometown newspaper.
Relating it to myself, I have a Scottish last name even though I am something like 98 percent Irish. At some point during my childhood we sent away for fabric in the pattern of our supposed Scottish klan. There was a sewing machine in the house and there were bathrobes and vests made from this fabric. I think even the cat got a tartan vest.
It would be completely inappropriate for me to put myself forward as some sort of representative of the Scottish American community. (Oh, how we have suffered in America!)
The more I process this news story the more it resembles Elizabeth Warren and her appropriation stunt.