Lily Gladstone set for historic sweep after landmark Oscar nomination

Killers of the Flower Moon star Lily Gladstone could make history as the first Native actor to sweep through awards season.

Martin Scorsese’s epic Western crime drama Killers of the Flower Moon has been cleaning up during this ongoing awards season.

The film tells the story of a series of murders of members of the Osage Nation after oil was discovered on tribal land as the local politicians and businessmen of the community conspire to kill the Native people for their wealth.

Killers of the Flower Moon has seen a ton of award wins from the Golden Globes to different Critic’s Choice Awards, but the most impressive of these wins come at the hands of Native star Lily Gladstone who could sweep the rest of the awards season thanks to her historic Oscars nomination.

Gladstone’s Oscar nomination makes history for Native actors

The 2024 Oscar nominations were recently announced and, unsurprisingly, Killers of the Flower Moon was recognized for several awards including Best Picture, Best Directing, and Best Original Song.

However, the most notable of these nominations is naming actress Lily Gladstone for Best Actress as she plays Mollie Burkhart, a wife and mother who is targeted for her family’s vast oil wealth.

Gladstone recently made history as the first Native woman to win Best Actress in a Motion Picture at the Golden Globes and, with her Oscars nomination, she comes one step closer to becoming the first major Native actor to completely dominate awards season.

Gladstone, who comes from the Siksikaitsitapi and Niimiipuu tribes, is the fourth Native actress to ever be nominated for an Oscar in the Best Actress category.

 Merle Oberon was nominated for The Dark Angel in 1935 Keisha Castle-Hughes was nominated for Whale Rider in 2003, and Yalitza Aparicio was nominated for Roma in 2018.

Despite several Native women being nominated in the Gladstone category and two Native men (Chief Dan George for Little Big Men and Graham Greene for Dances for Wolves) being nominated for Best Actor Oscars, no Native performer has ever won an Oscar.

But, as Gladstone continues to be honored at different award shows and events, there’s a strong possibility that she will make history as the first of her people to clinch an Oscar.