Lily Gladstone at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Indigenous Peoples Day celebration on Oct. 13. (Baylan Wysuph/CU Independent)
Not every little girl who grows up on a Native American reservation gets to change the ending of a film directed by Martin Scorsese. But that is exactly how Lily Gladstone approached her first major acting role, honoring her Niitsitapi heritage.
It was that same message of honoring history that Gladstone reflected on as the keynote speaker at CU Boulder’s Indigenous Peoples Day celebration on Oct. 13.
Gladstone said she started this process by working with her costar Leonardo DiCaprio to educate him on the culture of the Osage Nation.
“I don’t like the ending, Leo,” Gladstone said, looking back on her time on the set of “Killers of the Flower Moon.” “I gave Leo a crash course on cultural perpetuity.”
Gladstone, DiCaprio and Scorsese all concluded the movie with a modern round dance of the Osage Nation, accenting how they’ve overcome historical violence. It was important for Gladstone to spread the deeper message of community through ancestry.
Now, Gladstone shares that perspective through a speech at an Indigenous Peoples Day celebration on Oct. 13. It took place in the University Memorial Center at the University of Colorado Boulder.
“Lily kind of paved the way and opened the door for Native American students, and actors and actresses in general,” said Joseph R. Perez Jr., a spectator for the speech.
That idea of community was persistent, with Gladstone pushing how important it is to bring people together.
“There’s a lot of different shades of humanity,” Gladstone said. “You need to follow those to create a balanced, strong, healthy, thorough community.”
Angelica Lawson, an assistant professor of film and ethnic studies at CU Boulder also took the stage, with a personal connection to Gladstone. During Lawson’s time at the University of Montana, Gladstone took her Introduction to Indigenous Film course as a 20-year-old, and said it helped sway her into committing to acting.
Brittney Marris, a member of the audience, believes that attending cultural events is very important. Marris is a part of the Navajo and Mississippi Choctaw nations.
“It shows you’re engaging to learn more, not only about the First Nations people of this land, but also the perspectives of others,” she said.
Perez echoed the importance that attending cultural events provide when it comes to raising awareness.
“A lot of land that we stand on today, all native land, and people don’t realize that the retreat was ever broken,” he said. “Just to have people show up, it shows the support for this kind of event and increases awareness.”
Gladstone has four confirmed projects in the works, with the most notable being a remake of “The Thomas Crown Affair,” set to release in 2027.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Baylan Wysuph at baylan.wysuph@colorado.edu
