Well, as I said, technically she did solicit and receive money at the time from people who tended support causes like hers, based in part on her supposed Indian identity. I think that probably is fraud, though as I say my parents would not have really thought about it like that or worried about it much.
On Sat, 22 Oct 2022 at 12:35 PM Tom Wolper <[email protected]> wrote: > Changing identities is a common and fundamental attribute of Americans > going back to the Colonial Era. Usually it takes the form of passing, when > someone from a marginalized group takes on the identity of a member of a > privileged group. When someone takes on the identity of a member of a > marginalized group, that bears a deeper examination (Rachel Dolezal, for > example). > > Identity in a Native tribe can be difficult to establish in some cases > because of intermarriage, forced relocation to boarding schools, or other > dispersion. Native children of a passing parent may also not be brought up > knowing their tribal identity. The White Mountain Apache had no record of > Littlefeather being a tribal member, yet they had 50 years to disavow her > and never did. And she spent the rest of her life after the Oscar ceremony > devoted to Native causes. > > To say Sacheen Littlefeather was a fraud is to accuse her of lying to gain > some advantage. The people she supposedly defrauded, the White Mountain > Apache, don’t acknowledge any damage caused by her, and she didn’t make any > money off of her deception. There was dishonesty but she wasn’t a grifter. > > On Sat, Oct 22, 2022 at 12:36 PM Kevin M. <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> Hold the proverbial phone… are they trying to tell me that people in >> Hollywood aren’t always who they say they are? >> >> Setting aside my sarcasm, what I see as the biggest failing in modern >> politics is the emphasis of individual people over the message itself. >> Republicans used to be more guilty of that than Democrats, but Democrats >> have caught up in recent years. >> >> JFK was an egotistical, womanizing, self-centered a-hole, but we still >> honor the achievements of his time in office because his presidency was >> never about him but about the ideas he moved forward. By contrast, Nixon >> became THE GOP, so when he fell from grace, everything about his >> administration became scorched earth. Trump is Nixon reincarnated for the >> modern age. It remains to be seen if Democrats will try to deify Biden; >> they ought not, but it sure looks like they want to. >> >> Brando was openly liberal at a time when the establishment frowned upon >> it. He knew he could shine a light on the injustices against Native >> Americans, but he also knew he couldn’t possibly be the face of such a >> message. He chose someone he thought would be better; he was right… it is a >> moment still talked about decades later. There was no way to verify >> anyone’s claim of Native American blood in that era; for all we know, >> Littlefeather (like Elizabeth Warren) was told something about her heritage >> and she believed it, and it led her to crusade for Native American people. >> Or she knew she wasn’t Native American, but crusaded for them anyway. >> >> We always, always, always deconstruct the messengers. And we do so at the >> cost of the message. Making one woman the focus takes away from the issue >> itself. There was never going to be a perfect person to stand up on that >> stage to say what she said; there has only been one perfect person in >> history, and He was nailed to a tree and crucified for telling people how >> awesome it would be if everybody was nice to one another. And after they >> nailed him to a tree, they deconstructed Him, too, because we simply won’t >> tolerate anyone telling us to be nice. Littlefeather can still be commended >> for what she said, despite her imperfections. And we can all be nicer to >> each other. >> >> On Sat, Oct 22, 2022 at 7:33 AM PGage <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> And now comes this explosive piece from Jacqueline Keeler in the SF >>> Chronic, a Diné/Dakota writer living in Portland who has an ongoing project >>> of identifying what she calls “Pretendians” - non-Native people who falsely >>> claim Indian identity. >>> >>> Keeler reports a convincing case that the claim of the woman who called >>> herself “Sacheen Littlefeather” to be White Mountain Apache (or a >>> member of any Indian tribe) through her father was bullshit. >>> >>> Littlefeather was born Maria Louise Cruz in 1946. Her parents were >>> Manuel Ybarra Cruz and Gertrude Barnitz. Keeler writes “My review of her >>> father’s side of the family tree, where she claimed her Native heritage, >>> found no documented ties between his extended family and any extant Native >>> American nations in the United States.” >>> >>> Keeler interviewed Littlefeather’s two sisters, who insist both of their >>> parents were Mexican Americans, the father was not (as Littlefeather >>> claimed) an alcoholic or abusive, and that their sister Maria never talked >>> about being Indian until college aged and she wanted to get into modeling >>> and acting. Keeler also researched the background of Littlefeather’s >>> grandparents in Mexico and found no evidence of any formal Indian heritage. >>> Keeler concludes that she was no more Indian than any random Mexican who is >>> likely to have more or less incidental traces of Indian ancestry, but >>> nothing that would constitute tribal identity. >>> >>> This rocks a small but important part of my world, as the Littlefeather >>> episode was a part of my family story, and my parents were in touch with >>> and offered support of different kinds (including financial) to her through >>> intermediaries. I suppose now I should think of my parents as having been >>> defrauded, though they were the type that would rather help someone who was >>> lying than not help someone who needed it, and would never have thought of >>> making a big deal about it. >>> >>> I do owe an apology to Nehme, the author of the piece linked to in the >>> original thread, as I had chided her for implying that Littlefeather was >>> the source if the lie that John Wayne had wanted to assault her at the >>> Oscars. If Keeler is right Littlefeather told more and bigger lies than >>> that. >>> >>> >>> https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Sacheen-Littlefeather-oscar-Native-pretendian-17520648.php >>> >>> >>> >>> On Sat, 20 Aug 2022 at 7:05 AM Tom Wolper <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> Film historian Farrah Smith Nehme did a deep dive into footage from >>>> that Oscar night and subsequent interviews to see if the incident with >>>> Wayne really happened, and if not, where the story came from. >>>> >>>> >>>> https://selfstyledsiren.substack.com/p/john-wayne-and-the-six-security-men?s=r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web >>>> >>>> Her conclusion: Wayne was post-surgery for lung cancer and was less >>>> than physically robust. Since Littlefeather was on stage for less than two >>>> minutes and she hadn’t submitted her speech in advance, Wayne wouldn’t have >>>> had enough time to get to the stage from his seat. It’s possible he was >>>> already backstage and expressed anger, but that would have been at Brando >>>> for dissing the Academy and the ceremony. >>>> >>>> The story of the six security men restraining him seems to come from >>>> interviews after Wayne’s death and was an embellishment of what happened >>>> that night. >>>> >>>> On Tue, Aug 16, 2022 at 3:03 PM PGage <[email protected]> wrote: >>>> >>>>> I did watch that night, and my parents were the type that were all in >>>>> for her from the start; my parents were indirectly involved in a group >>>>> supporting the Wounded Knee protest (it was probably my mothers favorite >>>>> Oscar moment of all time). >>>>> >>>>> I think there has been some Public shaming, growing on Twitter since >>>>> the Will Smith incident, as the story about Wayne Having to be restrained >>>>> from physically attacking her got traction. >>>>> >>>>> Still, I agree it was a good idea to do this while she is still alive >>>>> to appreciate it. >>>>> >>>>> On Tue, 16 Aug 2022 at 11:29 AM Tom Wolper <[email protected]> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> I was really touched by this story. I didn’t watch the Oscars that >>>>>> night but I remember friends and classmates sneering at her and I don’t >>>>>> remember any introspection or contrition since then. Too often the public >>>>>> atonement comes only after the target has died. It surprises me in a good >>>>>> way that the Academy stepped up without a public shaming campaign and >>>>>> they >>>>>> can tell Littlefeather that the institution was wrong while she is still >>>>>> alive. >>>>>> >>>>>> On Tue, Aug 16, 2022 at 11:05 AM 'Bob Jersey' via TVorNotTV < >>>>>> [email protected]> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> The Native American woman, now 75, who famously gave a rejection >>>>>>> speech in Marlon Brando's behalf for his 1973 Best Actor Oscar for *The >>>>>>> Godfather*, will be honoured in September at the Academy Museum, an >>>>>>> event that will also feature dancing/musical performances and remarks >>>>>>> from >>>>>>> Academy officials and another Native, area California Assemblyman James >>>>>>> Ramos (San Bernardino area)... a free, by-reservation livestream has >>>>>>> apparently been booked solid... >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/sacheen-littlefeather-oscars-apology-1235198863/ >>>>>>> (link) >>>>>>> B >>>>>>> >>>>>>> -- >>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>>> Groups "TVorNotTV" group. >>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, >>>>>>> send an email to [email protected]. >>>>>>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>>>>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/0d236c2b-670a-4c03-832b-ab5905874df6n%40googlegroups.com >>>>>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/0d236c2b-670a-4c03-832b-ab5905874df6n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>>>>> . >>>>>>> >>>>>> -- >>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>> Groups "TVorNotTV" group. >>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, >>>>>> send an email to [email protected]. >>>>>> >>>>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>>>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJE-FiHux4jtD%2BBW8jT2J8LZDkz5wwSNr43NP%3DF62H4dh7Dh2Q%40mail.gmail.com >>>>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJE-FiHux4jtD%2BBW8jT2J8LZDkz5wwSNr43NP%3DF62H4dh7Dh2Q%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>>>> . >>>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> Sent from Gmail Mobile >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>> Groups "TVorNotTV" group. >>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>>> an email to [email protected]. >>>>> >>>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYLY00HZiXL4cewRqz75g1mivRWCr8ORKVrWt1JuMHVBuA%40mail.gmail.com >>>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYLY00HZiXL4cewRqz75g1mivRWCr8ORKVrWt1JuMHVBuA%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>>> . >>>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>> Groups "TVorNotTV" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>> an email to [email protected]. >>>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJE-FiHV78XarZu_hBx5hpDiBLhWbzAHcbZ7FTwZjiVM1tzabQ%40mail.gmail.com >>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJE-FiHV78XarZu_hBx5hpDiBLhWbzAHcbZ7FTwZjiVM1tzabQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>> . >>> >>> >>>> -- >>> Sent from Gmail Mobile >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "TVorNotTV" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to [email protected]. >>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkY%2BnKg4iVhXLxnUx3Pt_0DCLiyK%3DWh_A0xuieLVuHFnB3Q%40mail.gmail.com >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkY%2BnKg4iVhXLxnUx3Pt_0DCLiyK%3DWh_A0xuieLVuHFnB3Q%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>> . >>> >> -- >> Kevin M. 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