Sacheen Littlefeather’s ‘work’ on famed San Francisco ballet among suspect claims

Amid allegations that Sacheen Littlefeather faked a Native American identity for more than 50 years, others have come forward to offer examples of how the late Bay Area activist obscured, embellished or fabricated details about her life, including her purported work with dance pioneer Michael Smuin on one of his most acclaimed ballets.

Paula Tracy, the ex-wife and former dance partner of Smuin, who died in 2007, said in an email shared with this news organization that Littlefeather exaggerated her participation on his 1984 work, “Song for Dead Warriors.”  Smuin’s ballet was inspired by the life and death of activist Richard Oakes, one of the Native American students who led the occupation of Alcatraz in 1969.

“I did not realize that Sacheen Littlefeather was claiming to have been a consultant for the ballet,” said Tracy, who was married to Smuin at the time. “She definitely was trying to insert herself into the production.”

Littlefeather, born Marie Louise Cruz in Salinas, made Academy Awards history when she appeared on behalf of Marlon Brando to reject his best actor Oscar at the 1973 ceremony, to protest the negative stereotyping of American Indians in entertainment and to bring attention to the Wounded Knee Occupation protest in South Dakota. Her poised demeanor and important message about Hollywood representation brought some professional opportunities, including the chance to “work with Smuin,” then the co-artistic director of the San Francisco Ballet.

In a three-hour oral history for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences museum, Littlefeather said she and a friend, Native American dancer Jasper Redrobe, were brought in as “dance consultants,” for the ballet.

Littlefeather, who died Oct. 2 in Novato at age 75, said she worked on the ballet for five years. “It was a beautiful, beautiful project to work on for … many years,” she said. Littlefeather is correct when she says that the ballet won Smuin an Emmy Award after it aired on PBS’ “Great Performances” series. It also traveled to Washington, D.C., where it was performed at the Kennedy Center in 1985.

Littlefeather said in her interview that she attended a performance of the ballet — possibly at the Kennedy Center — with actor Joanne Wodward. “She viewed it and cried when she saw it,” Littlefeather said. “She said to me and Michael Smuin: ‘This is not a ballet. This is real life.’”

The San Francisco Ballet confirmed that Sacheen was credited as “an advisor” for the 1984 telecast, and the Dance Theatre of Harlem lists her as “Native American adviser” for its production. But Tracy challenges the idea that Littlefeather regularly worked on the production, including for as long as five years.

“The Native American consultant for the ballet was a dancer who was recommended by, and related to, Anna Halprin,” Tracy said, referring to Redrobe and Bay Area avante-garde dancer and choreographer Anna Halprin. “(Redrobe) was a tremendous help and taught the dancers (and Michael) traditional Native American dance steps which were included in the choreography.”

Otherwise, Tracy remembered Littlefeather visiting their home once and appearing at the opening night party with several “celebrity” Native Americans.

The allegations that Littlefeather falsely claimed to be White Mountain Apache and Yaqui have ignited debate in Native American circles about “Pretendians,” people who falsely claim to be Native American for fame, money or other opportunities. The allegations were made public in October by Littlefeather’s sisters, Trudy Orlandi and Rosalind Cruz, after the Academy celebrated her as an icon of diversity in its glittery new museum. The Academy reaped positive P.R. when it threw a gala celebration for her before her death and apologized for the boos she faced during her speech and for being “professionally boycotted” in the years after.

Scholars and activists say that concerns about Littlefeather’s “ethnic fraud” are bolstered by stories she told about herself over the years that either can’t be verified or that are refuted by other people and historical records. Helene Hagan, a historian, anthropologist and former long-time friend of Littlefeather, has called on the Academy to correct the story it tells about her in its museum, saying she acted out “many roles” in her “search for recognition and fame.”

Over the years, Littlefeather said in different interviews that she grew up impoverished – even in a shack with no toilet – and as the daughter of an abusive, alcoholic Native American father and a White mother, both of whom were too mentally ill to care for her. Orlandi and Cruz say those claims are false and that their father was Mexican American and that no one in their family ever talked about having Native American ancestry.

Research by Native American journalist Jacqueline Keeler, which included records going back to 1850, uncovered no ties between the Cruz family of Mexico and the White Mountain Apache and Yaqui tribes. Dina Gilio-Whitaker, a writer and lecturer of American Indian Studies at CSU San Marcos who once was commissioned to ghost-write Littlefeather’s memoir, said Keeler’s research is solid. She said Littlefeather never talked to her about her family connections to the White Mountain Apache or Yaqui tribes.

Littlefeather pushed the narrative over the years that she was from an oppressed people, while playing to the stereotype of the “Indian princess,” Gilio-Whitaker said. Littlefeather told The Guardian in 2021 that her parents, Manuel and Geroldine Cruz, met in Arizona but that they couldn’t marry in that state because because mixed-race couples were “illegal” so they moved to Salinas, California. Keeler has published Manuel and Geroldine’s 1946 marriage license from Pinal County Arizona online.