What was Sacheen Littlefeather’s cause of death? Tributes pour in as actress and activist passes away at 75 

Well-known actress, model, and civil rights activist, Sacheen Littlefeather recently passed away on October 2, 2022, at the age of 75.

Littlefeather’s caretaker revealed that she was at her residence at the time of death and was surrounded by her family members. The news was initially revealed by the Academy of Motion Pictures on Twitter. They stated:

“Sacheen Littlefeather, Native American civil rights activist who famously declined Marlon Brando’s 1973 Best Actor Academy Award, dies at 75.”

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Sacheen Littlefeather was suffering from breast cancer

According to The Washington Post, Sacheen Littlefeather's niece and caregiver stated that her cause of death was breast cancer.

She was diagnosed with the disease in 2018. Sacheen revealed in an interview last year that her cancer metastasized to her right lung and she was terminally ill.

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Littlefeather suffered from many other health issues over the years like internal bleeding, collapsed lungs, and cancer. She was diagnosed with tuberculosis when she was four years old and had to be hospitalized.

Her lungs collapsed when she was 29 and following her recovery, she was given a degree from Antioch University in holistic health and nutrition, focusing on Native American medicine. She was recovering from radical cancer surgery in 1991 and an article in 1999 revealed that she was suffering from colon cancer in the 90s.

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In brief, about Sacheen Littlefeather

Sacheen Littlefeather was a famous actress, model, and civil rights activist (Image via Valerie Macon/Getty Images)

Born on November 14, 1946, Littlefeather’s parents were saddlemakers and they shifted to Salinas in 1949, starting a business called Cruz Saddlery. Sacheen revealed in an interview in 1974 that she had a difficult childhood. In another interview in 1976, she called her father abusive and that her mother and sisters were also victims of the same.

She enrolled at North Salinas High School and then at Hartnell Junior College. After moving to the San Francisco Bay area in 1969, she pursued a modeling career and joined the United Bay Indian council.

She aimed to become an actress and appeared in many radio and television commercials, eventually joining the Screen Actors Guild. She also participated in the 1971 American Indian Festival at Foothill College and joined the radio station KFRC for six months along with reporting for PBS member station KQED.

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She was featured in Make-Up for Minority Women in 1973 and gained recognition as a professional model. She then protested against President Nixon’s budget cuts to federal Indian programs in February 1973.

Littlefeather participated in a meeting between the Federal Communications Commission and members of different minority groups about their representation on television.

Littlefeather was an advisor to PBS’s Dance in America: Song for Dead Warriors. She became a member of California’s Native American community and led prayer circles for Kateri Tekakwitha in the 80s. She was credited as the co-founder of the American Indian Registry for the Performing Arts in an article in 1991.

She was a secretary and community member-at-large on the interim board of directors of the American Indian AIDS Institute of San Francisco in 1988 and gained recognition for her campaigns against obesity, alcoholism, and diabetes.

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Netizens pay tribute on Twitter

Sacheen Littlefeather gained popularity over the years for her activism and work in theater and health care. Twitter was flooded with tributes when people heard about her demise:

Littlfeather’s name was never linked to any well-known personality and remained single for all these years.