This is a list of Indigenous people who have won or been nominated for Academy Awards . It includes those of provable Indigenous descent regardless of whether they passed as white at the time of their nomination, such as Merle Oberon. [1]
Year (Ceremony) | Name | Country | Ethnic group(s) | Film | Status | Milestone / Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 (92nd) | Taika Waititi Chelsea Winstanley | ![]() | Māori (Polynesian) | Jojo Rabbit | Nominated |
| [2] |
Year (Ceremony) | Name | Country | Ethnic group(s) | Film | Status | Milestone / Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 (91st) | Rami Malek | ![]() | Coptic | Bohemian Rhapsody | Won | First Copt to be nominated for and to win an Academy Award. | [3] [4] |
Year (Ceremony) | Name | Country | Ethnic group(s) | Film | Status | Milestone / Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2003 (76th) | Keisha Castle-Hughes | ![]() | Māori (Polynesian) | Whale Rider | Nominated |
| [5] |
2018 (91st) | Yalitza Aparicio | ![]() | Mixtec & Trique (Native Mexican) | Roma | Nominated |
| [4] |
2023 (96th) | Lily Gladstone | ![]() | Piegan Blackfeet & Nez Perce (Native American) | Killers of the Flower Moon | Nominated | First Native American actress to be nominated for an Academy Award. | [6] |
Year (Ceremony) | Name | Country | Ethnic group(s) | Film | Status | Milestones/Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1970 (43rd) | Chief Dan George | ![]() | Tsleil-Waututh (First Nations) | Little Big Man | Nominated |
| [7] |
1990 (63rd) | Graham Greene | ![]() | Oneida (First Nations) | Dances With Wolves | Nominated | First Oneida to be nominated for an Academy Award. | [8] |
Year (Ceremony) | Name | Country | Ethnic group(s) | Film | Status | Milestones/Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1966 (39th) | Jocelyne LaGarde | ![]() | Tahitian (Polynesian) | Hawaii | Nominated |
| [9] |
Year (Ceremony) | Name | Country | Ethnic group(s) | Film | Status | Milestone / Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 (92nd) | Taika Waititi | ![]() | Māori (Polynesian) | Jojo Rabbit | Won |
| [10] |
Year (Ceremony) | Name | Country | Ethnic group(s) | Film | Status | Milestone / Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1987 (60th) | Jonas Gwangwa | ![]() | Northern Ndebele | Cry Freedom | Nominated |
| [11] [12] |
2023 (96th) | Robbie Robertson | ![]() | Cayuga & Mohawk (First Nations) | Killers of the Flower Moon | Nominated |
| [6] |
Year (Ceremony) | Name | Country | Ethnic group(s) | Film | Status | Milestone / Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 (97th) | Julian Brave NoiseCat | ![]() ![]() | Secwépemc (First Nations) | Sugarcane | Pending |
| [13] |
Year (Ceremony) | Name | Country | Ethnic group(s) | Film | Song | Status | Milestones/Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1987 (60th) | Jonas Gwangwa | ![]() | Northern Ndebele | Cry Freedom | "Cry Freedom" | Nominated |
| [11] [12] |
2023 (96th) | Scott George | ![]() | Osage Nation (Native American) | Killers of the Flower Moon | "Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)" | Nominated | First member of the Osage Nation to be nominated for an Academy Award. | [6] [14] |
Year (Ceremony) | Name | Country | Ethnic group(s) | Film | Status | Milestone / Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012 (85th) | Ra Vincent | ![]() | Māori (Polynesian) | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | Nominated |
| [15] [16] |
2019 (92nd) | Jojo Rabbit | Nominated | Shared with Nora Sopková. | [15] [2] |
Year (Ceremony) | Name | Country | Ethnic group(s) | Film | Status | Milestone / Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2001 (74th) | Hammond Peek | ![]() | Māori (Polynesian) | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Nominated |
| [17] [18] |
2002 (75th) | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | Nominated | Shared with Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick and Michael Hedges. | [17] [19] | |||
2003 (76th) | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Won |
| [17] [5] | |||
2005 (78th) | King Kong | Won |
| [17] [20] |
Year (Ceremony) | Name | Country | Ethnic group(s) | Film | Status | Milestone / Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2004 (77th) | Taika Waititi Ainsley Gardiner | ![]() | Māori (Polynesian) | Two Cars, One Night | Nominated |
| [21] |
2023 (96th) | Misan Harriman | ![]() ![]() | Itsekiri | The After | Nominated |
| [22] [23] |
Year (Ceremony) | Name | Country | Ethnic group(s) | Film | Status | Milestone / Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1987 (60th) | Nils Gaup | ![]() | Sámi | Pathfinder | Nominated |
| [12] |
Year (Ceremony) | Name | Country | Ethnic group(s) | Milestone / Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 (92nd) | Wes Studi | ![]() | Cherokee Nation (Native American) | First and only Indigenous person to be awarded an Honorary Award. | [24] |
Her mother, believed to have been of Sri Lankan and Māori ancestry, was just 14 when she gave birth in 1911. After centuries of intermixing, babies born from biracial relationships had evolved into a quiet shame – shunned by Britons and Indians alike.
Harriman was born in Calabar, in 1977. He is the son of Chief Hope Harriman, the colourful Itsekiri chief, who died in 2012 at the age of 79.