'I tried to live my life that way': The legacy of Sacheen Littlefeather
"I remember feeling so validated and so empowered. I thought yes, this is right," Danielle Ewenin, a Native American activist, said.
"I remember feeling so validated and so empowered. I thought yes, this is right," Danielle Ewenin, a Native American activist, said.
"I remember feeling so validated and so empowered. I thought yes, this is right," Danielle Ewenin, a Native American activist, said.
Sacheen Littlefeather is a pioneer unlike any other.
It all started in 1973 when the Native American actress and activist made history at the Oscars. That's where she declined the best actor Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brando.
It was an act of protest against Hollywood's portrayal of indigenous people.
Littlefeather spoke out about it during an event at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles on Sept. 18.
"I felt [that it was] erasing a new generation," she said. "The input is really necessary in this changing world."
Nearly 50 years later, it's still a moment Danielle Ewenin hasn't forgotten.
"I was 13 [years old] at the time, and when she did that, I remember feeling so validated and so empowered. I thought yes, this is right, and I tried to live my life that way," she said.
It was that act of resiliency and bravery that inspired Ewenin to use her own voice for Native American representation.
Over the past several decades, she's spent her time advocating for rights among indigenous groups.
Especially for those missing and murdered.
It was very colonial structured, very system-oriented," she said. "It wasn't supportive of the families, or lifting up their voice, or empowering them in a way to make them feel that they would get justice for their loved ones."
Despite having the fifth-largest Native American population in the nation, New Mexico has the highest number of cases involving missing and murdered indigenous women and girls in the country.
An issue also prominent in international countries like Canada.
"One of the ministers of the government made a statement in 2016, that between 1980 and 2016. there were between four and 6000 indigenous women that have been murdered or have went missing," Ewenin said. "If you did the math on that, that is ten a year."
Ewenin's daughter, Agnes Woodward, is now an advocate herself.
The South Dakota mother often uses her skills and passion to create ribbon skirts. Just one of several items she sells through her online business, Reecreeations.
"Advocacy work, ways to empower indigenous people, certain days of awareness that are really important, and ways that people can participate," Woodward said.
A generational power all starting back from a true legacy.
Littlefeather died Sunday at 75, surrounded by loved ones at her home in Marin County, California.
Family members say she died from breast cancer.