Lily Gladstone Reflects on Heartwarming Homecoming After Oscars Loss

by Pooja Chauhan · 25/05/2024

Lily Gladstone recently reflected on her experience returning to the Blackfeet Nation after her eventful awards season with “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

Although she was nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars in March, the award went to Emma Stone for “Poor Things.” In a conversation with Esquire, Gladstone mentioned that “nobody was upset” about her not winning.

The “Under the Bridge” star shared details of her “beautiful trip home,” highlighting the honor of having her tribe’s “whole confederacy” come together to celebrate a Lily Gladstone Day. She described it as the greatest honor one could receive, noting that the confederacy collectively decided to honor her. “It was a beautiful homecoming,” she said.

Gladstone described the homecoming event, where “two thousand people showed up, from every corner of the US,” calling it “absolutely one of the most moving things” she had ever experienced.

Prior to the event, Blackfeet Nation leaders had assumed she would return with an Oscar, leading to a humorous phone call when she didn’t. “The organizers of the event called me beforehand and they said that they’d got a bunch of little cardboard cut-outs of gold-man statues that looked like an Oscar, to give to the kids. They asked if that was okay, or if it was gonna hurt my feelings. I said: ‘No, absolutely not,’” the actress recalled. “That’s just the whole thing of award campaigns and the competitive nature of pitting art against art. Clearly this film, in this moment, had meaning. It did its job.”

She added, “Yeah, nobody was upset that it didn’t happen. I feel like when the Golden Globe happened (Gladstone won best actress), a lot of people who are very far away from the industry just kind of thought it was the Oscars. It’s about the fact that [the film has] been awarded and it’s historic, and it’s still just a really meaningful moment. So it’s irrelevant whether or not I walked home with that statue in hand.”

Regardless of the Oscars outcome, Gladstone expressed gratitude for having ongoing work, including projects like “Fancy Dance” and “The Memory Police.”

After the 2024 Academy Awards, Gladstone posted on social media to thank her fans for their support throughout the awards season. “Feeling the love big time today, especially from Indian Country. Kittō’kuniikaakomimmō’po’waw – seriously, I love you all,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “(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).”

She also shared her reaction to Scott George and the Osage Singers performing at the Oscars, as “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” was nominated for Best Original Song. “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,’” she wrote. “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.”

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