{"id":504788,"date":"2022-10-29T18:20:08","date_gmt":"2022-10-29T15:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/sister-reveals-why-sacheen-littlefeather-lied-about-being-apache\/"},"modified":"2022-10-29T18:20:08","modified_gmt":"2022-10-29T15:20:08","slug":"sister-reveals-why-sacheen-littlefeather-lied-about-being-apache","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/sister-reveals-why-sacheen-littlefeather-lied-about-being-apache\/","title":{"rendered":"#Sister reveals why Sacheen Littlefeather &#8216;lied&#8217; about being Apache"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2d280f56a74\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2d280f56a74\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/sister-reveals-why-sacheen-littlefeather-lied-about-being-apache\/#%E2%80%9CSister_reveals_why_Sacheen_Littlefeather_%E2%80%98lied_about_being_Apache%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Sister reveals why Sacheen Littlefeather &#8216;lied&#8217; about being Apache&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CSister_reveals_why_Sacheen_Littlefeather_%E2%80%98lied_about_being_Apache%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Sister reveals why Sacheen Littlefeather &#8216;lied&#8217; about being Apache&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p><em>Like 85 million other television viewers around the world, Rosalind Cruz wasn\u2019t expecting to see her sister <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2QUacU0I4yU\">onstage at the 1973 Oscars<\/a><\/em> <em>when Marlon Brando won Best Actor for \u201cThe Godfather.<\/em>\u201c<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cHello, my name is Sacheen Littlefeather. I\u2019m Apache and I\u2019m president of the National Native American Affirmative Image Committee. I\u2019m representing Marlon Brando this evening and he has asked me to tell you \u2026 that he very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award. And the reasons for this being are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry<\/em> \u2026 <em>\u201c<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Rosalind, then 15, gawked in disbelief from their grandparents\u2019 home in rural Salinas, Calif., as Littlefeather \u2014\u00a0who she knew as her 26-year-old sibling, Marie Louise Cruz \u2014 performed what would become the most pivotal 75 seconds of her acting career.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>But there was one problem. \u201cShe lied,\u201d Rosalind, now 65 and living<em> in Lake County, Montana<\/em>, told The Post.<\/em> <\/p>\n<p><em>Now, weeks after Littlefeather died of breast cancer at age 75, Rosalind reveals to The Post\u2019s JOSHUA RHETT MILLER what really h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ened \u2014\u00a0and who \u201cSacheen Littlefeather\u201d really was.<\/em><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Sacheen-Littlefeather-01-1.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Rosalind Cruz says she was &quot;mortified&quot; when her sister Marie walked onstage at the 1973 Oscars and said, &quot;My name is Sacheen Littlefeather. I'm Apache ... &quot; According to Rosalind, both statements were lies.\" class=\"wp-image-24444193\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Sacheen-Littlefeather-01-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Sacheen-Littlefeather-01-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Sacheen-Littlefeather-01-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Rosalind Cruz says she was \u201cmortified\u201d when her sister Marie walked onstage at the 1973 Oscars and said, \u201cMy name is Sacheen Littlefeather. I\u2019m Apache \u2026 \u201d According to Rosalind, both statements were lies.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">ZUMA24.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"682\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Sacheen-Littlefeather-02-1.jpg?w=682\" alt=\"Littlefeather was at the Academy Awards to decline the Best Actor award for Marlon Brando, on the grounds of the film industry's &quot;treatment&quot; of Native Americans.\" class=\"wp-image-24444212\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Sacheen-Littlefeather-02-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1023 1023w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Sacheen-Littlefeather-02-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=682 682w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Sacheen-Littlefeather-02-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=341 341w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Sacheen-Littlefeather-02-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 682px) 100vw, 682px\"\/><figcaption>Littlefeather was at the Academy Awards to decline the Best Actor award for Marlon Brando, on the grounds of the film industry\u2019s \u201ctreatment\u201d of Native Americans.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">ZUMA24.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>We were mortified.<\/p>\n<p>Before Marie left for the Academy Awards, she told us: \u201cJust watch it. I can\u2019t tell you anything more, but just watch.\u201d A few years earlier, my older sister had started her acting career at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, but she was still desperately trying to make a name for herself.<\/p>\n<p>So when we saw Marie identify herself as \u201cApache,\u201d my grandparents and I were blown away. I will never forget how we just stared at each other absolutely awestruck.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/rosalind-cruz-Sacheen-Littlefeather-sister-03.jpeg?w=1024\" alt=\"&quot;Marie\u2019s sham claim of Native American heritage was nothing more than an opportunistic way for an aspiring actress to bust into Hollywood,&quot; said Rosalind (above).\" class=\"wp-image-24444342\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/rosalind-cruz-Sacheen-Littlefeather-sister-03.jpeg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/rosalind-cruz-Sacheen-Littlefeather-sister-03.jpeg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/rosalind-cruz-Sacheen-Littlefeather-sister-03.jpeg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>\u201cMarie\u2019s sham claim of Native American heritage was nothing more than an opportunistic way for an aspiring actress to bust into Hollywood,\u201d said Rosalind (above).<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Kent Meireis for NY Post <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The shocking moment marked the first time, to my knowledge, that my eldest sister claimed she was part of a tribe \u2014 a bogus identity she deliberately concocted while wearing a borrowed buckskin dress for maximum impact.<\/p>\n<p>My sister Marie, who had already spent a year in a mental hospital after trying to kill herself when she was 19, then assumed that fake image for nearly 50 years. Her elaborate ruse denigrates the memory of our late parents, Manuel Ybarra Cruz and Geroldine Marie Cruz, who were native Californians with no ancestral tribal ties.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"682\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Sacheen-Littlefeather-03.jpg?w=682\" alt=\"Littlefeather passed away from breast cancer on Oct. 2. \" class=\"wp-image-24444255\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Sacheen-Littlefeather-03.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1023 1023w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Sacheen-Littlefeather-03.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=682 682w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Sacheen-Littlefeather-03.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=341 341w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Sacheen-Littlefeather-03.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 682px) 100vw, 682px\"\/><figcaption>Littlefeather passed away from breast cancer on Oct. 2. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I\u2019m now ready to restore their honor by finally telling the truth: Our family has no known Native American heritage, including links to Arizona\u2019s White Mountain Apache and Yaqui tribes, as Marie falsely claimed. Our father\u2019s Hispanic lineage traces back to Mexico, while Mom\u2019s ancestors were French, German and Dutch.<\/p>\n<p>Like myself, my two older sisters, Marie and Trudy, were born and raised in Salinas, where we lived in a two-bedroom home with my parents. This was not the rickety shack that \u201cSacheen\u201d started describing to reporters in the mid-\u201970s. The house was directly behind our parents\u2019 custom saddle shop, Cruz Saddlery, in the town\u2019s Santa Rita section, where we kept our horse, Zurc.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"682\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Rosalind-Cruz-Sacheen-Littlefeather-01.jpg?w=682\" alt=\"Trudy (from left), Rosalind and Marie Cruz with their mother, Geraldine in 1957. Geraldine had French, German and Dutch ancestry, Rosalind said, while the girls' father was of Mexican heritage.\" class=\"wp-image-24444266\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Rosalind-Cruz-Sacheen-Littlefeather-01.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1023 1023w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Rosalind-Cruz-Sacheen-Littlefeather-01.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=682 682w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Rosalind-Cruz-Sacheen-Littlefeather-01.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=341 341w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Rosalind-Cruz-Sacheen-Littlefeather-01.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 682px) 100vw, 682px\"\/><figcaption>Trudy (from left), Rosalind and Marie Cruz with their mother, Geraldine in 1957. Geraldine had French, German and Dutch ancestry, Rosalind said, while the girls\u2019 father was of Mexican heritage.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Courtesy of Rosalind Cruz<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As a family living in rural California, we grew our own fruit and vegetables; figs were Marie\u2019s favorite. We also sewed our own clothes, which is where Trudy and I believe Marie got the inspiration for her Native American alter ego. The thread and ribbon we used back then was manufactured by Sasheen Ribbon Company. She just took the second \u2018S\u2019 out and put a \u2018C\u2019 in there. That\u2019s all she did to start living this fantasy.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m still unsure as to what truly inspired Marie to choose \u201cLittlefeather,\u201d a surname she adopted after high school to \u201creflect her natural heritage,\u201d <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.sacheenlittlefeather.net\/\">her official website claims<\/a>. But many dramatic stories she told over the years were just baloney \u2014\u00a0like the one about our deaf father giving her that name as she danced around him with a feather in her head, or claiming that he was a violent alcoholic.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"682\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Sacheen-Littlefeather-04.jpg?w=682\" alt=\"Marie in third or fourth grade, while growing up in Salinas, Calif.\" class=\"wp-image-24444315\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Sacheen-Littlefeather-04.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1023 1023w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Sacheen-Littlefeather-04.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=682 682w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Sacheen-Littlefeather-04.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=341 341w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Sacheen-Littlefeather-04.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 682px) 100vw, 682px\"\/><figcaption>Marie in third or fourth grade, while growing up in Salinas, Calif.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Courtesy of Rosalind Cruz<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Those tales of torment or allegations of abuse came years after Dad died of cancer in 1966 at just 44 years old. They became increasingly vicious, too \u2014 like when Marie claimed he tried to run her over with his truck. But those were just more phony narratives from a pathological liar.<\/p>\n<p>Our mother developed dementia around 1978 and couldn\u2019t defend herself. She passed away in 2009. Meanwhile, Marie was busy manipulating everyone with her American Indian act, lying so frequently that Trudy and I couldn\u2019t keep up. Yet Marie\u2019s unchallenged accounts never included a word about her sisters. We simply did not exist.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/marlon-brando-01.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Rosalind said her sister &quot;seized on&quot; Marlon Brando because she knew the actor, seen here in &quot;The Godfather,&quot;  was &quot;getting into American Indians.&quot;\" class=\"wp-image-24444331\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/marlon-brando-01.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/marlon-brando-01.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/marlon-brando-01.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Rosalind said her sister \u201cseized on\u201d Marlon Brando because she knew the actor, seen here in \u201cThe Godfather,\u201d  was \u201cgetting into American Indians.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>We lived out in the country and didn\u2019t have many visitors, so no one shamed our family in public. Even so, Marie did her best to embarrass the Cruzes forever when she appeared in Playboy about seven months after the Oscars. We were a conservative family, we went to Catholic schools \u2014 we weren\u2019t ready for all of this.<\/p>\n<p>Marie\u2019s sham claim of Native American heritage was nothing more than an opportunistic way for an aspiring actress to bust into Hollywood. She worked her way into Brando\u2019s orbit while living in San Francisco, where she spotted \u201cThe Godfather\u201d director Francis Ford Coppola as he moved into an old Victorian house in the Pacific Heights neighborhood. Marie introduced herself and struck up a friendship with him.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/rosalind-cruz-Sacheen-Littlefeather-sister-02.jpeg?w=1024\" alt=\"&quot;I was embarrassed more than anything else when I saw my sister in that unfamiliar dress on Hollywood\u2019s grandest stage,&quot; said Rosalind. &quot;Now we\u2019re pretending to be Indians?\" class=\"wp-image-24444461\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/rosalind-cruz-Sacheen-Littlefeather-sister-02.jpeg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/rosalind-cruz-Sacheen-Littlefeather-sister-02.jpeg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/rosalind-cruz-Sacheen-Littlefeather-sister-02.jpeg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>\u201cI was embarrassed more than anything else when I saw my sister in that unfamiliar dress on Hollywood\u2019s grandest stage,\u201d said Rosalind. \u201cNow we\u2019re pretending to be Indians?<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Kent Meireis for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>With Coppola\u2019s help, she then seized on Brando\u2019s growing interest in Native American advocacy by writing him a letter claiming to be an Indian activist. Always the opportunist, Marie ultimately managed to win over the movie star by professing to be someone else. She realized Brando had already advocated for the Black Panthers and was now switching gears, getting into American Indians. She knew that.<\/p>\n<p>I was embarrassed more than anything else when I saw my sister in that unfamiliar dress on Hollywood\u2019s grandest stage. Now we\u2019re pretending to be Indians? You just don\u2019t do stuff like that. But Marie saw it as a way to advance her career and worm herself into the industry.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n    <\/aside>\n<p>I first tried to reveal this nasty secret about 15 years ago, even reaching out to \u201cThe Oprah Winfrey Show\u201d at one point. I wanted to expose Marie as a mentally unstable person unfairly trashing our family with the same old deception. But who was going to listen to me? She was the big saint selling the act to people buying the tickets.<\/p>\n<p>I hadn\u2019t talked to Marie in 13 years when my friend texted me to check the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> on Oct. 3, a day after she passed away. Trudy and I had dealt with her mental illness our entire lives and I couldn\u2019t take it anymore. Over the years, Marie ramped up her hurtful slander, deeply damaging our family solely to feed her fraudulent persona. She never did mention, however, the inconvenient fact of her two biological sisters not being Native Americans just like her.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"846\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Manuel-Ybarra-Cruz-05.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Marie and Rosalind's late parents, Manuel Ybarra Cruz and Geroldine Marie Cruz, were native Californians with no ancestral tribal ties.\" class=\"wp-image-24444447\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Manuel-Ybarra-Cruz-05.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Manuel-Ybarra-Cruz-05.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Manuel-Ybarra-Cruz-05.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Marie and Rosalind\u2019s late parents, Manuel Ybarra Cruz and Geroldine Marie Cruz, were native Californians with no ancestral tribal ties.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Marie also maintained she was \u201cred-listed\u201d because of her Oscars speech \u2014 unable to land even the smallest role due to the direct orders of no less than J. Edgar Hoover. But my sister was once again blinded by her grandiose narcissism. Hoover died on May 2, 1972, nearly 11 months <em>before<\/em> \u201cSacheen\u201d took that stage.<\/p>\n<p>Hoover gave orders from the grave, apparently. Now do you see how her mind worked? And <em>no one<\/em> challenged her on it.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"682\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/rosalind-cruz-Sacheen-Littlefeather-sister-06.jpeg?w=682\" alt=\"Rosalind says she hadn't talked to her sister in 13 years before her passing.\" class=\"wp-image-24444647\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/rosalind-cruz-Sacheen-Littlefeather-sister-06.jpeg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1023 1023w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/rosalind-cruz-Sacheen-Littlefeather-sister-06.jpeg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=682 682w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/rosalind-cruz-Sacheen-Littlefeather-sister-06.jpeg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=341 341w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/rosalind-cruz-Sacheen-Littlefeather-sister-06.jpeg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 682px) 100vw, 682px\"\/><figcaption>Rosalind says she hadn\u2019t talked to her sister in 13 years before her passing.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Kent Meireis for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>When I learned last month about the Academy <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oscars.org\/news\/academy-museum-welcomes-sacheen-littlefeather-evening-conversation-healing-and-celebration\">formally apologizing to Marie<\/a> for being blacklisted following her Oscars stunt, all I could think was they got swindled. And the funny thing? The Academy Museum honored her as Native even though she\u2019s not. Our family is not Native American. Can you imagine how stupid those guys look?<\/p>\n<p><em>[The Academy Museum acknowledged claims disputing the late actress\u2019 background on Friday in a statement to The Post. \u201cThis is something both Littlefeather and the Native American community have addressed continuously since the 1970s. Native American and Indigenous identity is deeply complex and layered, especially in the United States, and these communities have long battled erasure and misrepresentation. With the support of its Indigenous Alliance \u2014 an Academy member affinity group \u2014 the Academy recognizes self-identification.\u201d]<\/em><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"747\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Rosalind-Cruz-Sacheen-Littlefeather-02.jpg?w=747\" alt=\"Rosalind (clockwise from top left) with Marie and their mother.\" class=\"wp-image-24448104\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Rosalind-Cruz-Sacheen-Littlefeather-02.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1494 1494w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Rosalind-Cruz-Sacheen-Littlefeather-02.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1120 1120w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Rosalind-Cruz-Sacheen-Littlefeather-02.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=747 747w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Rosalind-Cruz-Sacheen-Littlefeather-02.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=373 373w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Rosalind-Cruz-Sacheen-Littlefeather-02.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 747px) 100vw, 747px\"\/><figcaption>Rosalind (clockwise from top left) with Marie and their mother.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Marie kept her scheme going until the very end, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wNHtImiC90o&amp;t=5421s\">telling the captivated Los Angeles crowd<\/a> about how she took the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion stage in 1973 with dignity, grace and humility as a \u201cproud Indian\u201d woman. Ironically enough, she insisted she had to \u201cspeak the truth\u201d all those decades ago.<\/p>\n<p>Marie, who had been diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer years earlier, then accepted the Academy\u2019s misguided mea culpa and asked all Native Americans in attendance to stand. She then referenced \u201cour people,\u201d praising them as survivors like herself while insisting that standing for truth would keep her voice alive.<\/p>\n<p>My sister\u2019s final words at that so-called \u201cEvening of Conversation, Healing and Celebration\u201d were \u201cI remain Sacheen Littlefeather.\u201d You know, why give up the part after 50 years?<\/p>\n<p>The purpose of me coming forward now is to bring my parents\u2019 honor back and to tell the truth. By doing that, I\u2019ll naturally unmask my departed sister. White Mountain Apache tribal leaders have no record of any \u201cSacheen Littlefeather\u201d \u2014 the fictional character Marie created to fill a huge void because she didn\u2019t like herself. May she rest in peace, although I hope she grasped the agony she caused my family with her lifetime of lies.\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/10\/29\/sister-reveals-why-sacheen-littlefeather-lied-about-being-apache\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Sister reveals why Sacheen Littlefeather &#8216;lied&#8217; about being Apache&#8221; Like 85 million other television viewers around the world, Rosalind Cruz wasn\u2019t expecting to see her sister onstage at the 1973 Oscars when Marlon Brando won Best Actor for \u201cThe Godfather.\u201c \u201cHello, my name is Sacheen Littlefeather. I\u2019m Apache and I\u2019m president of the National Native&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":504789,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/Sacheen-Littlefeather-rosalind-cruz.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[134762,29599,70822,73817,5021,97316,71187,75646,25023],"class_list":["post-504788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-10-29-22","tag-academy-awards","tag-cultural-appropriation","tag-francis-ford-coppola","tag-hollywood","tag-j-edgar-hoover","tag-marlon-brando","tag-native-americans","tag-oscars"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=504788"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504788\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/504789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=504788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=504788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=504788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}