Lily Gladstone Is the First Indigenous American to Receive an Acting Nomination at the Oscars

Lily Gladstone made history as the first Indigenous American to be nominated in an acting category at the Academy Awards. Nominations were announced on January 23, 2024 and Gladstone joins an amazing lineup of actors. But their inclusion in this category is historic—and rightfully so for their role in Killers of the Flower Moon.

A few Indigenous actors from countries outside the U.S. have been nominated previously: Keisha Castle-Hughes (New Zealand) for Whale Rider, Yalitza Aparicio (Mexico) for Roma, and Graham Greene (Canada) for Dances With Wolves. Gladstone (who is from the Blackfeet/Nimiipuu peoples and uses she/they pronouns) is, however, the first actor nominated from the land now occupied by the United States. This historic nomination comes after decades of Hollywood casting and celebrating white actors in Native roles.

While it has been years since the last time an Indigenous actor was nominated, it has taken nearly 100 years for an American Indian to be nominated in an acting category by this U.S.-based awards body. Gladstone taking this moment in history is well-deserved, not only for their work in Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon but for their previous work as well.

Watching Gladstone do the award circuit for their role as Mollie Burkhart, talking about the work they put into Killers of the Flower Moon, and how they brought this tragic story to life was incredibly moving and this nomination is beyond deserved.

An undeniably Oscar-worthy performance

Mollie is the most important part of Killers of the Flower Moon. Gladstone said in an actors roundtable prior to the nominations that an original version of the screenplay had her only in three scenes while the film centered on the FBI investigation of the Osage murders. Luckily, Martin Scorcese realized his mistake and we ended up getting a brilliant film showcasing the pain that Mollie went through at the hands of her own husband and racist, violent American institutions.

Hopefully, Gladstone continues to make history by taking home the Best Actress win. It is incredibly well-deserved.

(featured image: Paramount Pictures/Apple TV+)