Taika Waititi dedicates Oscar to Indigenous kids in powerful acceptance speech

After winning the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for his bittersweet satire Jojo Rabbit, Taika Waititi thanked a number of colleagues and family members who helped make the movie happen.

But it was his dedication that really stood out.

"This is really great, and I dedicate this to all the Indigenous kids who are in the world who want to do art, and dance, and write stories," Waititi said.

You can watch his full speech below.

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Waititi is the first person of Māori (the Indigenous people of New Zealand) descent to win an Academy Award. In fact, he's the first person of Indigenous descent to win an Oscar in the Best Adapted Screenplay category.

Other Indigenous people to have won Academy Awards include singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie, who won Best Original Song in 1982, and actor Wes Studi, who received an honorary Oscar in 2019.

"We are the original storytellers, and we can make it here as well," concluded Waititi. "Thank you."