10 Indigenous Celebs Who Were Nominated For Oscars Before Lily Gladstone; Only Five Won!

With power comes responsibility. The entertainment industry plays a huge role in showing important social issues and diverse communities. If we look at the history of Indigenous representation in Hollywood, it's a messy one, negative and wrong perceptions and behaviours towards Native people. Often there has been misrepresentation of the community. There has always been an uphill battle for Indigenous talent. Oscars has also been criticised for being the only 'all-white show' and erasure of the indigenous people.

At this years Oscars, Lily Gladstone created history as the first Native American woman to be nominated in the Best Actress category for her performance in 'Killers of the Flower Moon'. This has happened for the first time in the 96-year history of the Academy that a Native American woman bagged a nomination. Merle Oberon, in 1935, became the first actress of Asian descent to be nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Award.

Here's the list of Indigenous talent who got nominated for The Academy Awards from 2000-2024.

Yalitza Aparicio became the first Indigenous woman and the second Mexican woman to receive an Academy Award nomination in Best Actress category for her role in 'Roma' in 2018.

In 2003, Keisha Castle-Hughes became the first Māori of Tainui and Ngāpuhi descent to be nominated for her role in 'Whale Rider'. It was her debut.

Sean Connery, of Irish Traveller descent, became the first person of Indigenous descent to win Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars in 1988 in 'The Untouchables'. Russell Crowe became the first person of Indigenous descent to win Best Actor award for his role in 'Gladiator' in 2000.

Guillermo Arriaga, a Native Mexican, bagged the prestigious award for 'Babel' in 2006.

Robbie Robertson is the first Cayuga and first Mohawk to be nominated for an Academy Award. He got nominated for 'Killers of the Flower Moon' in the above mentioned category.

Scott George, a Native American was nominated for the Best Original Song category for 'Killers of the Flower Moon' song 'Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)'.

Wes Studi was the first Indigenous North American actor who was got the Academy Honorary Award, in 2019. He got the award “in recognition of the power and craft he brings to his indelible film portrayals and for his steadfast support of the Native American community''. His speech alsoc caught everyone's attention. The'Avatar' actor said, “From the rolling hills, the plains of North America, to the mountains of Appalachia; from the desert beauty of Navajo Diné Nation to the gritty streets of Los Angeles, and the sound stages of Hollywood wearing motion picture wardrobe — it's been a wild and wonderful ride.”

Taika Waititi, New Zealand filmmaker, actor and comedian earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film for his short film 'Two Cars, One Night' in 2004. Ainsley Gardiner, who is also a filmmaker from New Zealand bagged a nomination in the same category. In 2019, he won the Best Screenplay Award for 'Jojo Rabbit'. At the 92nd Oscars, he received the Best Picture nomination with Chelsea Winstanley for the same movie.

Hammond Peek won the 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' for Best Sound in 2003 and in 2005, he took home the award in the same category for 'King Kong'.

Other Indigenous talent who got nominated for Oscars were Nils Gaup in Best Foreign Language Film for 'Pathfinder', Ra Vincent in Best Production Design for 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' and 'Jojo Rabbit'. Buffy Sainte-Marie won Best Original Song award in 1982 Oscars for the song 'Up Where We Belong'. Lourdes Portillo got the Best Documentary Feature nomination for the film 'Las Madres: The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo' in 1985. In 1966, Jocelyne LaGarde received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for the film 'Hawaii'. Chief Dan George and Graham Greene bagged Best Supporting Actor nominations in 1970 and 1990 respectively.