BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) 鈥 When Lily Gladstone took the stage Sunday night to accept her first Golden Globe, she spoke to the live TV audience in the Blackfeet language.
鈥淭his is a historic win,鈥 she said, becoming the Globes' first Indigenous winner of best actress in a drama. "This is for every little rez kid, every little urban kid, every little Native kid out there who has a dream, who is seeing themselves represented and our stories told 鈥 by ourselves, in our own words 鈥 with tremendous allies and tremendous trust from and with each other.鈥
Gladstone, 37, won for her role as Mollie Burkhart in Martin Scorsese鈥檚 epic In the film, her character鈥檚 family was murdered in a reign of terror in which the Osage were targeted for the headrights to their oil-rich land in Oklahoma.
In the audience, co-star Leonardo DiCaprio wore a pin in solidarity.
鈥淚 have my Osage pin on tonight because, you know, the Osage nation, we鈥檙e standing in unison with them for this movie," he said before the show.
Gladstone and DiCaprio walked the red carpet with their respective mothers. After her win backstage, she paid homage to her parents for supporting her dreams.
The actor said her father watched from home, where they will have a 鈥渂ig ol' feast.鈥
鈥淓very time I鈥檝e felt a level of guilt or it wasn鈥檛 really possible, my mom and my dad my whole life never once questioned that this is what I was meant to do," said Gladstone, who is an only child. 鈥淭hey would always support me when it was the times of famine and the times of feast.鈥
It's "a beautiful community, nation, that encouraged me to keep going, keep doing this,鈥 Gladstone said of the Blackfeet Nation. 鈥淚鈥檓 here with my mom, who, even though she鈥檚 not Blackfeet, worked tirelessly to get our language into our classrooms so I had a Blackfeet-language teacher growing up.鈥
The actor, who grew up between Seattle and the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana, was named one of
Gladstone said she typically greets people in her Blackfeet language.
鈥淚t鈥檚 often how I introduce myself in a new group of people, especially when it鈥檚 significant," she said. "It was one of the more natural things I could do in the moment.鈥
On the subject of a possible Oscar win, 鈥淚t would be an incredible moment in my life, but it would mean so much more than just me.鈥
鈥淚t is, of course, something I have to think about, insofar as I would just really love to speak some of my language 鈥 and teach myself a little bit more of my language 鈥 to have and to hold in that moment,鈥 she continued.
Gladstone is the second Native actress to receive a nomination at the Globes after Irene Bedard, who received a nod for the 1995 television movie 鈥淟akota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee.鈥
鈥淚 don鈥檛 have words,鈥 Gladstone said. 鈥淚鈥檓 so grateful that I can speak even a little bit of my language, which I鈥檓 not fluent in, up here, because in this business, Native actors used to speak their lines in English, and then the sound mixers would run them backwards to accomplish Native languages on camera."
Speaking of the award, Gladstone said: "It doesn鈥檛 belong to just me. I鈥檓 holding it right now. I鈥檓 holding it with all my beautiful sisters in the film.鈥
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Associated Press writer Beth Harris contributed to this report.
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