Marlon Brando Speech 

When and Where: In 1973, actor Marlon Brando boycotted the Oscars and declined to accept the Oscar for best actor for his career-riveting performance in The Godfather.

Who: Instead he sent the Native American actress Sacheen Littlefeather in his place. She stated that Brando “very regretfully” could not accept the award, as he was protesting Hollywood’s portrayal of Native Americans in film. “The motion picture community has been as responsible as any,” Brando wrote, “for degrading the Indian and making a mockery of his character, describing his as savage, hostile and evil.”

Why this is significant: His Oscar statement expressed support for the American Indian Movement (AIM) and referenced the ongoing situation at Wounded Knee, the South Dakota town that had been seized by AIM members the previous month and was currently under siege by U.S. military forces. Wounded Knee had also been the site of a massacre of Native Americans by U.S. government forces in 1890. His protest for indigenous people’s rights is one that is still remembered years later.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QUacU0I4yU