Thirty-seven year old native of Montana’s Blackfeet reservation, Lily Gladstone, has been nominated for her first Academy Award for her star role in Killers of the Flower Moon.
“Killers Of The Flower Moon” is based on David Grann’s non-fiction book of the same name. The western thriller follows the murders of wealthy members of the Osage tribe with mysterious circumstances in the 1920s, with Gladstone playing as Mollie Burkhart. Burkhart’s family is murdered as a part of a plot to take their fortune.
Gladstone is granted the nomination after she became the first indigenous woman to win the Best Actress Award at the Golden Globes. She dedicated it to “every little native kid out there who has a dream.”
She began her speech of acceptance by speaking in the Blackfeet language, which is an Algonquian language spoken by the Blackfoot and Niitsitapi people. She then returned to communicating in English, tearing up over her accomplishment while continuing on to talk about her community.
From there, the actress tenderly said, “This win is a historic one. It doesn’t belong to just me. I’m holding it right now. I’m holding it with all my beautiful sisters in the film at this table over here and my mother, Tantoo Cardinal, standing on all of your shoulders. Thank you.”
Gladstone then gives thanks to the director and co-writer Martin Scorsese. She also turns to give thanks to her co-stars, Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro for “changing things” in the industry. I do have hope that more actors will get recognition such as she did.
“Thank you for being such allies. Thank you,” she said. Her win during the ceremony she claimed was for every Native kid out there who has a dream–seeing themselves represented in stories.
