Sacheen Littlefeather, best known for declining Marlon Brando's Oscar on his behalf at the Academy Award celebrations, has died at 75 years old.

As reported by Screen Rant, Littlefeather passed on Oct. 2, surrounded by her family in Novato, California. The late actor and activist was diagnosed with cancer in the 1990s and developed stage IV breast cancer in 2018. Before the 1973 Academy Awards, Brando asked Littlefeather to stand in on his behalf to decline the award for Best Actor due to Hollywood's cruel portrayal of Native Americans in films. After Brando won for his performance in The Godfather, the Littlefeather took the stage wearing moccasins and a buckskin dress and delivered Brando's pre-written speech.

Due to time constraints, Littlefeather, of the Apache nation, could not deliver Brando's full 739-word speech. The then-26-year-old shared that Brando could not accept his Best Actor award due to how poorly the entertainment industry treated Native Americans and the United States' occupation of Wounded Knee, South Dakota. Following her speech, audience members either booed or cheered for Littlefeather. Actor Clint Eastwood infamously stood up for all the cowboys shot in Western films, seemingly missing the point of Littlefeather's message. Six security guards had to hold John Wayne from attacking Littlefeather following her speech.

A team of security guards had to escort Littlefeather off the stage to avoid potential injury. The activist later recalled how the Academy Awards' producer, Howard W. Koch, threatened to have her arrested if she spoke any longer. After the ceremony, Littlefeather recounted how someone shot two bullets into Brando's door while she spoke with the actor.

Nearly 50 years later, the Academy issued an apology to Littlefeather in June 2022 from former Academy President David Rubin. She described the apology as a "dream come true." Littlefeather read the apology in full on Sept. 17, 2022, at An Evening with Sacheen Littlefeather, a celebration of Native American performances throughout the years at the Academy Museum.

In addition to standing in for Brando, Littlefeather starred in films throughout the 1970s, such as The Trial of Billy Jack, Winterhawk and Johnny Firecloud. She appeared in the 2009 documentary Real Injun, which outlined the history of Hollywood's on-screen treatment of Indigenous people. Outside of acting, Littlefeather became involved with the American Indian AIDS Institute of San Francisco. She later won the 1986 Traditional Indian Medicine Achievement Award and an Achievement Citation from the Catholic Health Association of the United States.

Source: Screen Rant, YouTube