At the Oscars ceremony in 1973, the 26-year-old Sacheen Littlefeathertook the stage to decline the best actor award given to Marlon Brando.
Brando, who won the award for The Godfather, asked Littlefeather to appear on stage at the ceremony to refuse the award given to him.
But Littlefeather faced boos and racist rhetoric.
Littlefeather, now 75, was the first Native American to perform at the Oscars at the time.
His 60-second speech gained iconic significance and went down in history as one of the most remembered moments in cultural history.
Littlefeather, who was a member of the actors’ union at the time, gave a speech denouncing the prejudices in the entertainment industry against Native Americans.
Littlefeather, regarding the apology, “We natives are very patient people, I just had to wait 50 years! We always have to keep our sense of humor alive, that’s the way we survive.” said.
Littlefeather stated that actor John Wayne, who came on stage to attack him, was forcibly blocked and that the government prevented him from getting a job because he threatened to end any program in which he was involved.
Francis Ford Coppola’s The Father also won the best picture award at the ceremonies that year.