Sacheen Littlefeather holds a statement from Marlon Brando refusing the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Image: Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Marie Louise Cruz was born in 1946 to a white mother and a father of Apache, Yaqui and Pueblo descent
After high school, she took the name Sacheen Littlefeather to reflect her Native American heritage
Soon thereafter, she became an activist for Native American rights. She joined the organization Indians of All Tribes, and participated in the group’s spectacular 19-month occupation of Alcatraz Island to protest the mistreatment of Native Americans by the U.S. government. Read more...