Lily Gladstone makes Oscars history as 1st Native American nominated for best actress
Gladstone is up for her performance in "Killers of the Flower Moon."
Lily Gladstone has made history with her 2024 Oscar nomination.
Gladstone, who is of Siksikaitsitapi and NiMíiPuu heritage, is the first Native American woman to be nominated for best actress. She is up for her performance in "Killers of the Flower Moon," a film chronicling the series of real-life murders of members of the Osage Nation in 1920s Oklahoma, known as the Reign of Terror.
Though she is the first Native American to be nominated in the category, she is not the first Indigenous nominee. Other known Indigenous best actress nominees include Yalitza Aparicio for 2018's "Roma" and Keisha Castle-Hughes for 2003's "Whale Rider."
Gladstone reacted to her historic nomination Tuesday morning in a phone interview with ABC News.
"It's overdue, and it's not the first," she said. "I remember how I felt when Keisha Castle-Hughes was nominated as the first Indigenous best actress in 'Whale Rider' and seeing that film, seeing a young woman lead that kind of immense work and that kind of groundbreaking shift in the world, that was such an inspiration to me."
Gladstone also said that she's excited for others in her community to "feel seen and represented," adding, "I'm processing, I'm digesting, but I'm so incredibly grateful."
No Indigenous or Native American actor has ever won an Academy Award for acting. Wes Studi, who is Native American from the Cherokee Nation, was awarded an honorary Oscar in 2020.
Gladstone won the Golden Globe for best actress in a motion picture (drama) earlier this month, delivering a powerful acceptance speech, and also won the Nation Board of Review award for best actress.
"Killers of the Flower Moon" is up for 10 Oscars this year. The film, which also stars Leonardo DiCaprio, scored a best picture nomination as well as a best director nomination for Martin Scorsese, among others.
The 96th Academy Awards will take place March 10, airing live on ABC.
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