After bagging a prestigious Golden Globe Award, Lily Gladstone is making history with her new accomplishment. She is the first Native American to get a best actress nomination at the Academy Awards. She is nominated for her impeccable performance of Mollie Burkhart in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon.
Soon after the nominations for the upcoming 96th Academy Awards were released, the actress addressed her nomination in quite a blunt way.
Lily Gladstone Addressed Her Best Actress Oscar Nomination
The 37-year-old actress has made history by becoming the first Native American to be Oscar-nominated in the Best Actress category. She is nominated for playing one of the key roles as Mollie Kyle, a wealthy member of the Osage Nation in the Killers of the Flower Moon.
The movie is based on a true story story where she marries Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Ernest Burkhart. Her family members were systematically murdered over the oil reserves rights in the oil-rich Oklahoma region. Lily Gladstone was in Pawhuska, Oklahoma when the nominations were announced, saying,
“It just felt like I wanted to be as close to Mollie as I could be.”
While she is “so honored” with the nomination, she wondered why no Native American actresses have been nominated till now.
She told Deadline,
“Why am I the first? Why did it have to take this long for me to be the first Indigenous North American? Most of the films that show up in these categories are shot on Indigenous land in North America, and it’s taken this long.”
The actress, who is of Siksikaitsitapi and Niimiipuu heritage, is the first Native American actress to be nominated for an Oscar. However, many fans are arguing whether her first Native American record title truly belongs to her or not.
Internet Argue Lily Gladstone’s Not the First Native American Actress to Get an Oscar Nod
Many internet commentators are arguing whether the Globes Award winner is truly the first native American actress to get a Best Actress nomination in the Academy Awards. They rather claimed that Yalitza Aparicio, who earned a nomination in the same category for her role in Roma (2018) would be the rightful personality for the title.
They took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their opinions. Check out the tweet here.
That would be Yalitza. Mexico is an American country, and located in North America. So… less bias more facts
— Mau Ariza (@Mau_Ariza) January 23, 2024
Yalitza Aparicio was the first! pic.twitter.com/QV3dVOQKkm
— ⚡AlinaOverpowered⚡ (@alina0) January 24, 2024
Did people forget about Yalitza Aparicio in Roma? Unlike Lily Gladstone, Yalitza Aparicio is not half-white. pic.twitter.com/ict5wtjU0h
— Eric Pellinen (@EricPellinen) January 24, 2024
I'm pretty sure that Yalitza Aparicio was the first North American indigenous woman nominated for an Oscar
— Alan Girón 🇲🇽 (@AlanGiron) January 23, 2024
You’re actually forgetting about someone who came before her. https://t.co/vny32VDH2W
— Ricardo Marín WHO DID NOT DIE (@reecardough) January 23, 2024
Mexico is North America too!
And before Lily, Mexican native
Yalitza Aparicio was nominated for "Roma", for Best Actress. https://t.co/wPFSwzdDIe— Pati Pé (cuenta PERSONAL) (@patipenaloza) January 24, 2024
That’s actually incorrect, the first Native-American to be Oscar nominated for Best Actress was Yalitza Aparicio in The Academy Awards of 2019. pic.twitter.com/UW9m5jsVGc
— Ricardo (@RT_Iturriaga) January 24, 2024
While her historic Oscar nomination creates confusion among the netizens, it is to be noted that Gladstone is the first Native American to be Oscar-nominated in the category. However, she is the fourth actress of indigenous descent to be nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award.
As per PEOPLE, Merle Oberon was the first Indigenous woman to receive the Best Actress Oscar nod in 1935 for her role in Sidney Franklin’s The Dark Angel. Keisha Castle-Hughes received the Oscar nod in the same category for starring as Paikea in Whale Rider. Meanwhile, Aparicio, who fans claim to be deserving of the title, was raised by parents of indigenous descent in Tlaxiaco, Mexico. She earned a nomination for her role in Roma (2018).
Gladstone, a member of the Blackfeet Nation, told The Guardian about living on reservations until she was 11 years old. Meanwhile, other nominations in this category include Annette Bening for Nyad, Sandra Hüller for her work in Anatomy of a Fall, Carey Mulligan for Maestro, and Emma Stone for starring in Poor Things.
