Sacheen Littlefeather, who championed indigenous causes, was not an Indian, the sisters reveal.
– He lived in a fantasy world and died in his fantasy world, Orlandi says in the article.
The issue was reported by several American media, including Insider.
Littlefeather, whose real name was Marie Louise Cruz, died of breast cancer that had spread to her lungs at the age of 75 in early October.
Littlefeather has said in interviews that his father belonged to the indigenous peoples of North America and that his mother was a European-American.
Littlefeather also said that he was ethnically part of the American White Mountain Apache tribe, but that he grew up mostly with his mother’s parents.
– It was all a scam. This is disgusting both to indigenous peoples and to our own parents, Cruz said.
Members of the White Mountain Apache tribe told the San Francisco Chronicle that no evidence of Littlefeather’s membership in the tribe has been found.
Became famous for his stunt at the Oscars
Marlon did not want to accept the award, as he criticized the American film industry’s portrayal of Native Americans as distorted.
Brando hoped that Littlefeather would refuse the award for him at the gala and read a speech that Brando had written.
On live TV, during Littlefeather’s speech, he was interrupted by boos. The speech also caused applause, but Littlefeather himself later said that he had experienced racism at the gala. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences apologized for the incident last June.