Indigenous actress Yalitza Aparicio nominated for Oscar for 'Roma'

Tuesday, January 22, 2019  

Yalitza Aparicio, an Indigenous actress from Mexico, has been nominated for an Oscar award.

Aparicio, who is Mixtec and Triqui, was nominated in the Lead Actress category her role in Roma, a film in which she speaks the Mixtec language. The role was her first ever and she reflected on the possibility of an Oscar nod in a recent interview with The New York Times.

“I’d be breaking the stereotype that because we’re Indigenous we can’t do certain things because of our skin color,” Aparicio told the paper. “Receiving that nomination would be a break from so many ideas. It would open doors to other people — to everyone — and deepen our conviction that we can do these things now.”

Aparicio appears to be the first Indigenous person to ever be nominated for Lead Actress at the Oscars. She is up against four other women for the Academy Award.

Roma, which can be streamed on Netflix, also secured nominations for Best Picture, Supporting Actress (Marina de Tavira), Director (Alfonso Cuarón), Original Screenplay (Alfonso Cuarón), Cinematography (Alfonso Cuarón), Best Foreign Language Film (Mexico), Sound Editing (Sergio Diaz, Skip Lievsay), Sound Mixing and Production Design (Eugenio Caballero, Bárbara Enrı́quez). Aparicio plays a domestic worker in the film.

The nominations for the 91st annual Academy Awards were released on Tuesday morning. The ceremony will air live on February 24.

Last year's ceremony included actor Wes Studi, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, as a presenter. He spoke the Cherokee language and was the first Native person to present an award in the history of the Oscars.

Alice Brown Otter, a young citizen of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, also was recognized last year for her activism against the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Few Native or Indigenous people have ever been nominated for an Oscar -- The Associated Press counted just three. Only one of them, Buffy Sainte-Marie, who is Cree, won for her original song, "Up Where We Belong" in 1983.

Oscar Nominations 2019: The Complete List (Variety January 22, 2019)
With ‘Roma,’ Alfonso Cuarón Ties Oscar Record for Most Nominations for a Single Film (Variety January 22, 2019)
‘Roma’ Becomes Netflix’s First Best Picture Oscar Nominee (Variety January 22, 2019)
Yalitza Aparicio becomes second Mexican best actress Oscar nominee (The Los Angeles Times January 22, 2019)
Roma's Oscar Nominees Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira Explain How They Created Alfonso Cuaron's Ode to Mexico City (W Magazine January 22, 2019)
Yalitza Aparicio of ‘Roma’ and the Politics of Stardom in Mexico (The New York Times January 17, 2019)

Oscars see a bit of diversity on stage with Native presenter and performance (March 5, 2018)
Cherokee actor Wes Studi selected as presenter for Oscar ceremony (February 28, 2018)
Song from Elouise Cobell documentary on shortlist for Oscar nod (December 14, 2016)
Native talent among diverse group asked to join film academy (June 29, 2016)
Oscar-nominated film features Native actors and Native languages (March 11, 2016)
Sonny Skyhawk plans to wear war bonnet on red carpet for Oscars (February 1, 2016)
Doug George-Kanentiio: Oscar boycott ignores plight of Native people (January 20, 2016)