Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native American civil rights activist greatest recognized for declining Marlon Brando's greatest actor Oscar for "The Godfather" in 1973, has died on the age of 75, the Academy of Movement Image Arts and Sciences and her household introduced late Sunday.
She was affected by breast most cancers, her household stated.
In its tweet with phrase of her dying, the academy quoted her as saying, "When I'm gone, all the time be reminded that everytime you stand for fact, you can be protecting my voice and the voices of our nations and our individuals alive. I stay Sacheen Littlefeather. Thanks."
On the October 1973 Academy Awards ceremony Littlefeather, carrying buckskin costume and moccasins, grew to become the primary Native American girl to take the stage on the Oscars.
In a 60-second speech, she stated Brando could not settle for the award.
She was booed by some within the viewers. John Wayne, who was backstage, was reportedly livid.
The 1973 Oscars have been held through the American Indian Motion's two-month occupation of Wounded Knee in South Dakota.
Her household stated Sunday that Littlefeather turned down the Oscar on Brando's behalf in an effort to "finish the stereotyping of Native individuals within the movie, tv, and sports activities industries.
"In consequence, Sacheen was professionally boycotted, personally harassed and attacked, and discriminated in opposition to for almost 50 years," the assertion continued.
The Academy formally apologized for her remedy by Hollywood in a letter from then-Academy President David Rubin in June.
"The abuse you endured due to this assertion was unwarranted and unjustified," Rubin wrote. "The emotional burden you've gotten lived by means of and the fee to your personal profession in our business are irreparable. For too lengthy the braveness you confirmed has been unacknowledged. For this, we provide each our deepest apologies and our honest admiration."
Littlefeather stated in a press release that it was "profoundly heartening to see how a lot has modified since I didn't settle for the Academy Award 50 years in the past."
In September, what the household described as a "heartfelt honoring" was held on the Academy Museum's David Geffen Theater in Los Angeles "with a sold-out viewers in attendance."
"Although many individuals have been judgmental of Sacheen and handled her in a unfavorable method, she forgave all of them, didn't maintain grudges, and moved on together with her life in a constructive method, exhibiting everybody love and forgiveness," the household stated.
In response to the household, Littlefeather was a mannequin and an actress recognized for roles in "Billy Jack" in 1974, "Winterhawk" the next 12 months, "Reel Injun" in 2010 and "Sacheen: Breaking The Silence," in 2018.
A Requiem Mass for Littlefeather is scheduled for later this month at St. Rita Church in Fairfax, Calif.