This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

The organizers behind the Academy Awards are apologizing to Sacheen Littlefeather nearly 50 years after she famously took to the stage on behalf of Marlon Brando, adding that they are vowing to focus on inclusivity.

In a June “statement of reconciliation” released Monday by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, President David Rubin acknowledged to Littlefeather that his note “has been a long time coming,” since the 45th annual Oscars in 1973.

That year, “The Godfather” star Brando declined his Academy Award for the film and had Littlefeather represent him at the ceremony.

Littlefeather said the reasons for Brando rejecting the honor were “the treatment of American-Indians today by the film industry and on television, in movie reruns, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee.”

Sacheen Littlefeather appears at the Academy Awards ceremony to announce that Marlon Brando was declining his Oscar as best actor for his role in “The Godfather,” on March 27, 1973. The move was meant to protest Hollywood’s treatment of American Indians. (AP Photo, File)

In his letter, Rubin called Littlefeather’s words a “powerful statement,” writing they continue “to remind us of the necessity of respect and the importance of human dignity.”

“The abuse you endured because of this statement was unwarranted and unjustified. The emotional burden you have lived through and the cost to your own career in our industry are irreparable. For too long the courage you showed has been unacknowledged. For this, we offer both our deepest apologies and our sincere admiration,” the Academy president said.

“We cannot realize the Academy’s mission to ‘inspire imagination and connect the world through cinema’ without a commitment to facilitating the broadest representation and inclusion reflective of our diverse global population,” the letter said.

Responding to the Academy’s apology, Littlefeather said in a statement, “We Indians are very patient people — it’s only been 50 years!”

“We need to keep our sense of humor about this at all times. It’s our method of survival,” she said.

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures announced Monday it would host a free Sept. 17 program of “conversation, reflection, healing and celebration” with Littlefeather.

The 75-year-old actor and activist called the program at the Los Angeles museum a “dream come true.”

“It is profoundly heartening to see how much has changed since I did not accept the Academy Award 50 years ago,” she said.