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Sacheen Littlefeather’s sisters told the San Fransisco Chronicle that she’s not really Native American.
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Littlefeather turned down an Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brandon for his role in ‘The Godfather’ in 1973.
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Littlefeather’s sister, Trudy Orlandi, told The Chronicle that Littlefeather was “living in a fantasy”.
The sisters of Sacheen Littlefeather, an actress and activist who turned down an Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brando in 1973, claimed she wasn’t actually Native American.
“The best way I can think of to sum up my sister is that she created a fantasy,” her younger sister Trudy Orlandi told the San Fransisco Chronicle. “She lived in a fantasy, and she died in a fantasy.”
In an opinion column published Saturday by the San Fransisco Chronicle, writer Jacqueline Keeler interviewed Littlefeather’s sisters, Rosalind Cruz and Trudy Orlandi, who claimed Littlefeather wasn’t actually Native American.
“It’s a lie,” Orlandi told The Chronicle. “My dad was who he was. His family was from Mexico. And my dad was born in Oxnard.”
“It’s a fraud,” Cruz said, according to The Chronicle. “It’s disgusting to the heritage of tribal people. And it’s just…insulting to my parents.”
Littlefeather, who died Oct. 2 at the age of 75, wore a buckskin dress when she turned down the Best Actor Oscar on behalf of Brando for his lead role in ‘The Godfather.’
Littlefeather, whose birth name is Marie Louise Cruz, gave a 60-second speech refusing the award on Brando’s behalf and decrying the treatment of Native Americans in Hollywood, which resulted in a mix of boos and cheers from the audience .
“[Brando] “I unfortunately cannot accept this very generous award,” Littlefeather said in her speech. “
Littlefeather later said that John Wayne should be restrained from storming the stage to attack him during his speech, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences wrote an apology to Littlefeather, which was made public last August, saying “the abuse you suffered as a result of this statement was unwarranted and unwarranted.”
He added: “The emotional burden you have experienced and the cost of your own career in our industry is irreparable. For too long the courage you have shown has gone unrecognized.”
In response to the Academy’s apology, Littlefeather released a statement which read “As to the Academy’s apology to me, we Indians are very patient people – it’s only been 50 years!”
According to The Chronicle, both Orlandi and Cruz said their family had no known Native American ancestry and said their family identified as “Spanish” on their father’s side.
White Mountain Apache tribal officials told The Chronicle they found no record of Littlefeather or his family members being enrolled in the White Mountain Apache.
A representative for White Mountain Apache did not immediately return Insider’s request for comment on Saturday.
Littlefeather’s sisters also told The Chronicle that her claims that she grew up in violence and poverty were not true. Both sisters said their main motivation for coming forward was to fix the image of their father, whom Littlefeather had painted as an abusive alcoholic.
“My dad was deaf and he lost his hearing at age 9 due to meningitis,” Cruz told The Chronicle. “He was born into poverty. His father, George Cruz, was an alcoholic who was violent and used to beat him. And he was placed in foster homes and his family. But my sister Sacheen take what happened to him.”
Both Cruz and Orlando told The Chronicle that they learned of Littlefeather’s death from the internet and neither were invited to their funerals.
Read the original Insider article
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