Native American actor Lily Gladstone may have lost the Best Actress Academy Award to Emma Stone on Sunday night, but she showed grace by using her platform to honor the Osage nation, the indigenous tribe that is the focus of the Best Picture nominated film she starred in, Killers of the Flower Moon.
In the Martin Scorsese western crime drama based on the eponymous non-fiction book by David Grann, Gladstone portrayed Mollie Burkhart, an Osage woman married to WWI veteran Ernest Burkhart, played by Leonardo DiCaprio.
Her performance in Killers of the Flower Moon received critical acclaim and she became the first Indigenous woman to be nominated for and win the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture–Drama, as well being the first Indigenous actor to win a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Female Actor.
However, the night belonged to Stone for her performance in Yorgos Lanthimos's Poor Things which was widely embraced by critics and moviegoers.
In her humble acceptance speech after genuinely looking shocked at being declared the Best Actress, Stone made her win less about her in favor of "a team that came together to make something greater than the sum of its parts."
She also gave a shout-out to Gladstone, who was beaming for her, and fellow nominees, Annette Bening, Sandra Hüller, and Carey Mulligan, and told them, "I share this with you. I am in awe of you, and it has been such an honor to do all of this together."
However, Stone's Oscar win for the role, in which she played an adult resurrected with the brain of a child, faced scrutiny on social media stemming from resentment of a category that has often been criticized for its lack of diversity and awarding actresses who were historically White.
Halle Berry and Michelle Yeoh are the only women of color to be rewarded in the Best Actress category in the Academy's 96-year history.
Still, Gladstone appeared visibly happy about Stone's victory.
The two were later spotted embracing during a commercial break.
In her first post since the awards ceremony, Gladstone chose not to focus on her Oscar loss.
Instead, she penned a poignant post celebrating the Osage Tribal Singers, who performed at the Oscars.
Osage Nation members Scott George, Kenny Bighorse, and Vann Bighorse were nominated for Best Song for “Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)" which is heard at the conclusion of Killers of the Flower Moon.
Their moving performance during the Academy Awards elicited an emotional response from the audience, who rose to their feet.
Gladstone recalled the significant moment, writing:
"When watching the Osage Singers at the Oscars, my inner voice said 'They’re the ones bringing us all up on stage tonight, that’s how it should be.'"
"The history in the film and of the moment rightfully belong to the Osage Nation. What an honor to be close enough to feel the drum."
The tweet was preceded by another in which the actor expressed gratitude for all the outpouring of love from fans.
"Feeling the love big time today, especially from Indian Country. Kittō”kuniikaakomimmō”po’waw - seriously, I love you all," she said before joking:
"(Better believe when I was leaving the Dolby Theater and walked passed the big Oscar statue I gave that golden booty a little Coup tap - Count: one)"
Her tweet resonated with fans online.
A Redditor gave props to Gladstone and said of her:
"She continues to be grace personified."
"Throughout the awards campaign, she always made it about the Osage people. All the actresses were phenomenal, but I always noticed how much more she spoke about the subject matter of her film and made sure to center them even in conversations about her own performance."
Another commented:
"I hope we see much more of her in film and TV. She’s just so genuine and lovely."
Her comments also allowed for visibility and enlightenment.
"Lily is exceptional and I hope she has a long and thriving career. Shallowly, I also think she’s so beautiful that I want to see more of her red carpet looks," wrote Redditor Luna_Somaoma, adding:
"I have no Native American heritage, but the Osage people performing at the Oscar’s gave me chills and made me cry. How special that moment was."
"I’d really like to learn more about the people who our nation belonged to, their history, their traditions, it’s so powerful in a way it took me 4 decades to realize."
And Redditor NervousInside4815Inside4815 simply said of Gladstone, "She is an angel. That is all."
We couldn't have said it better.
