
Died at 79
female
Sacheen Cruz Littlefeather (born Marie Louise Cruz; November 14, 1946 – October 2, 2022) was an American actress, model, and Native American civil rights activist. Littlefeather was born to a Native American (Apache and Yaqui) father and a European American mother. During the 1969 occupation of Alcatraz, she became involved in the Native American activist community. Littlefeather represented Marlon Brando at the 45th Academy Awards in 1973, where she—on Brando's behalf—declined the Best Actor award that he won for his performance in The Godfather. The favorite to win, Brando boycotted the ceremony as a protest against Hollywood's portrayal of Native Americans and to draw attention to the standoff at Wounded Knee. During her speech, the audience's response to Brando's boycotting was divided between booing and applause. After the Academy Award speech, she went on to work in hospice care. She continued to work in activism for a number of health-related and Native American issues, and had produced films about Native Americans. In June 2022, the Academy sent Littlefeather a statement of apology, which was read in full at An Evening with Sacheen Littlefeather on September 17. Description above from the Wikipedia article Sacheen Littlefeather, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Sacheen Littlefeather

Ruth Two Bears
for Ruth Two Bears in Dogfight
Suggested by caillansilver

In 1963, the night before the 18 years old "Birdlace" Eddie and his friends are shipped to Vietnam. They play a dirty game called 'Dogfight': all of them seek a woman for a party, and who finds the most ugly one, wins a prize. Eddie finds the lonesome pacifist Rose working in a coffee shop. She's happy to accompany him - but then she sees through the game. However by this time he already learned to like her, so he follows her home. Will he manage to win her heart despite their differences?