Actor Lily Gladstone makes history as the first Indigenous person to win a Golden Globe for her performance of Mollie Burkhart in Martin Scorsese’s ‘Killers of the Flower Moon.’
Lily Gladstone made history as the first Native American woman to win a Golden Globe for best actress for her performance as Mollie Burkhart in Martin Scorsese’s ‘Killers of the Flower Moon.
After Gladstone was announced, she received a standing ovation from the crowd, many of them A-listers in Hollywood. As she stepped onto the stage and accepted her award, Gladstone first spoke words in her Blackfeet language.
During her acceptance speech, Gladstone remarked on a darker part of cinematic history, when Native actors would speak English, then had their words played backward to represent a Native American language.
“In this business, Native actors used to speak their lines in English, and then the sound mixers would run them backward to accomplish Native languages on camera,” said Gladstone.
Gladstone continued, “This is a historic win; it doesn’t belong to just me; I’m holding it right now — I’m holding it with all of my beautiful sisters in the film and my mother… I’m standing on all of your shoulders.”
“(For) every little rez kid, every little urban kid, every little Native kid out there who has a dream, who is seeing themselves represented and our stories told by ourselves, in our own words, with tremendous allies and tremendous trust.”
The last time an Indigenous actor was nominated for a Golden Globe was Irene Bedard for her role in the 1994 series, Lakota Woman: Seige at Wounded Knee.
Lily Gladstone on her win backstage at the Golden Globes (courtesy of the Golden Globes YouTube channel)
See related coverage
Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese discusses ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’
Native Viewpoint film review: Killers of the Flower Moon
Lily Gladstone and Lainey Bearkiller Shangreaux discuss ‘The Unknown Country’ film
Vincent Schilling, Akwesasne Mohawk, is the founder and editor of Native Viewpoint. With nearly 20 years of experience as a Native journalist and former member of the White House Press Pool, Vincent works to uplift underrepresented voices in the world of media and beyond. Follow Vincent on YouTube.com/VinceSchilling, on Twitter at @VinceSchilling or on any other of his social media accounts by clicking on any of the icons below.
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