She died at the age of 75 Sachin Littlefeather, Native American actress and activist who is known by many mainly for her role as a stand-in for him Marlon Brando in Oscar deprive the actor of the Golden statuette for his role in “Godfather”.

Littlefeather fought him mammary cancer. The news of her death was American Film Academy which confirms that the actress has died Sunday (2/10) in Novato, Northern California, with her family by her side.

Sachin Littlefeather, Native American civil rights activist who famously turned down the 1973 Marlon Brando Best Actor award, dies at 75. pic.twitter.com/OlpsoItlCw

— Academy (@TheAcademy) October 3, 2022

In 1972, Francis Ford Coppola adapted The Godfather, Nino Puzo’s novel about a Sicilian mafia family—the first part of a film trilogy completed in 1990—for the big screen.

The result of this first “Godfather” was not only the high point of the American director’s career, but also one of the most iconic moments of American cinema to this day. Among the many that are remembered from the film, of course, is the performance of Marlon Brando as the head of the Vito Corleone family.

It was clear that such a film would be felt at the Oscars, even winning 3 Golden Statuettes at the 1973 ceremony. Among them was the Oscar for Best Actor, which went to Marlon Brando.

But the American actor, instead of attending the ceremony and receiving his award with a typical acceptance speech from those we are used to, decided to make a louder move: he sent Sachin Littlefeather, or otherwise, Maria Krut, to the Oscars. on his behalf, a Native American actress who appeared at the ceremony dressed as an Apache.

So when Roger Moore and Liv Ullman announced Marlon Brando’s victory, Littlefeather took the stage with a 15-page letter from the actor, which she couldn’t read at the ceremony due to lack of time. However, he said that the actor is turning down this particular award in protest of the way the American film industry treats indigenous people. At the same time, she was the first Indian woman to take the stage at the Academy Awards.

Political and social statements may now be one of the main items on the Oscars agenda, but this was not the case in 1973. In fact, while Sachin Littlefeather was on stage, some of the audience booed her, while John Wayne, who was backstage at the time, is said to have become so angry that it took six bodyguards to bring him to his senses.

The native woman herself again revealed in an interview with the BBC in 2020 that she left the Oscars stage accompanied by two bodyguards. As for the paraphilology that followed in the media, some of them claimed that Sachin Littlefeather was not really Indian and it was all just a way to score points for her career and that she was Marlon Brando’s mistress.

However, the backlash didn’t end there, as Littlefeather revealed in later years that she was the object of ridicule, ridicule, and even harassment for her brief appearance at the Oscars.

Back in August, the American Academy decided to make amends for all of this by apologizing for one of the most talked about moments in Oscar history. In fact, Academy President David Rubin sent the woman an apology letter back in June.

In it we read, among other things: “The ill-treatment you received for this statement was unjustified and unfair. The emotional loss you have suffered and the cost of your career in our industry is irreparable. For too long, no one knew about your courage. For this, we apologize and express our sincere admiration.”

Sachin Littlefeather, in turn, called it “deeply encouraging to see how much has changed since I didn’t win an Academy Award 50 years ago.”