What Did Marlon “The Godfather” Brando’s Academy Awards Letter Say?

Sacheen Littlefeather, an Apache and Yaqui actress and activist who helped put some light of Native American portrayal in Hollywood and the events at Wounded Knee.

During the 45th Academy Awards on March 27th, 1973. The Movie Godfather was a huge hit. Marlon Brando was up for the Best Actor award in which he would decline the award and not even show up to the award show.

Sacheen Littlefeather was to accept the award on Marlon Brando’s behalf but instead rejected the award to talk about how Hollywood portrays Native American’s in Hollywood and the help promote more peace and love with the events going on at Wounded Knee.

The response at the time was a mix of clapping and boo’s. She didn’t get to say all that she wanted to say and in fact she had a letter from Brando that she couldn’t read because of time.

Did Marlon Brando regret the situation and not attending the awards to accept his award?

Hear what he had to say here:

On the Dick Cavett Show, Brandon Marlon was asked:

If you had to do it over again, would you do it any differently?

“I don’t think so no, I think there was an opportunity. Since the Native American Indian has had an opportunity to be heard anywhere in the History of the United States. I felt it was a marvellous opportunity for an Indian to voice their opinion to 85 million people. I guess that was the number.

I felt they had a right to….in view of what Hollywood has done to them. I was embarrassed for Sacheen. She wasn’t able to say what she intended to say and I was desist that people shouldn’t have booed, whistled and stunned.

Even though perhaps it was directed to myself…they should have at least had the curtesy to listen to her.”

So What Was in The Letter?

Later Sacheen was interviewed 45 years later to talk about the contents of that letter that Brandon Marlon had and wanted to be read on live television.

Here is the Content of The Letter Marlon Brandon Wrote for Academy Awards that Sacheen Littlefeather Was to Read

For 200 Years we have said to the Indian People who are fighting for their lands, their lives, their families, their rights to be free.

Lay down your arms my friends, and then we can remain together.

Only if you lay down your arms my friends, can we then talk about peace and come to an agreement which will be good for you.

When they laid down their arms, we murdered them, we lied to them, we cheated them out of their lands.

We starved them into signing fraudulent agreements that we call Treaties that we never kept.

We turned them into beggars on a Continent that gave life for as long as life can remember.

And by any interpretation of history, however twisted…we did not do right.

We were not lawful, nor were we just in what we did.

For them we do not have to restore these people

We do not have to live up to some agreements.

Because it is given to us by virtue of our power to attack the rights of others.

To take their property, to take their lives when they are trying to defend their land and liberty.

And to make their virtues a crime and our own vices virtues.

But there is one thing which is beyond the reach of this perversity

And that is the tremendous verdict of history, and history will surely judge us.

But do we care.

What kind of moral schitzophrenia is it that allows us to shout at the top of our National Voice for all the World to hear that we live up to our commitment

When every page of history and when all the thirsty starving humuliating days and nights of the last 100 years in the lives of the American Indian contradict that voice.

It would seem that the respect for principle and the love of one’s neighbour has become dysfunctional in this Country of ours and that all we have done all that we have succeeded in accomplishing with the power is simple alienating the hopes of the new born Countries in this world as well as friends and enemies alike that were not humane and that we do not live up to our agreements.

Perhaps you are saying right now

What the hell has does this have to do with the Academy awards. Why is this woman standing up here ruining our evening. Invading our lives with things that don’t concern us and that we don’t care about. wasting our time and money intruding in our homes.

I think the answer to this question unspoken questions

The motion picture community has been as responsible as any for degrading the Indian and making a mockery of his character.

Describing his a savage, hostile and evil. It’s hard enough for children to grow up in this world. When Indian children watch television and they do watch films, and when they see their race depicted as they are in film. Their minds become injured in ways that we can never know.

Recently there have been a few faltering steps to correct the situation, but too faltering and too few. So I, as a member in this profession, do not feel that I can as a citizen of the United States accept an award here tonight.

I think awards in this country at this time are innopratrate to be received or given until the condition of the AMerican Indian is drastically altered.

IF we are not our brothers keeper, at least let us not be his executioner.

I would have been here tonight to speak to you directly. But I felt that perhaps I can be a better use if I went to Wounded Knee.

To help for-saw in whatever way I can, the establishment of a peace that would be dishonourable as long as the river shall run and grass shall grow.

I would hope that those who are listening will not look upon this as a rude intrusion but as an Ernest effort to focus attention on an issue that might very well determine whether or not this country has the right to say from this point forward we believe in inalienable rights of these people to remain free and independent on lands that have supported their life beyond living memory.

Thank you for your kindness and your courtesy to miss Littlefeather.

Thank you and good night.

Marlon Brando

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All this was happening after the Wounded Knee Incident was happening which was a 70 day Siege that happened from broken promises of Treaties and an internal battle with Richard Wilson.

Do you remember the Wounded Knee Incident? Comment Below