Sacheen Littlefeather

Sacheen Littlefeather (born Marie Louise Cruz) is an Native American civil rights activist and actress known for The Trial of Billy Jack (1974), Johnny Firecloud (1975) and Winterhawk (1975). She is best known for presenting a speech on behalf of actor Marlon Brando, for his performance in The Godfather, when he boycotted the 45th Academy Awards ceremony on March 27, 1973, in protest of the treatment of Native Americans by the film industry. She wore an Apache dress on the occasion. Littlefeather's ancestry is Apache, Yaqui, Pueblo on her father's side and her mother is of French, German, and Dutch descent. On her official website, she states her father was from the White Mountain Apache and Yaqui tribes from Arizona and that "Cruz" is her father's recognized tribe name. Description above from the Wikipedia article Sacheen Littlefeather (filmmaker), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.