NBA Champion Officially Becomes Enrolled Tribal Member
The photo above was taken by photographer Kenneth Hawk.
NBA Champion, Kyrie Irving, is now officially an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Tribe of the Dakotas. According to a post by professional powwow MC, Whitney Rencountre, the NBA MVP visited the Black Hills and the Oglala Lakota Nation on Thursday, before he traveled to Standing Rock Lakota/Dakota Tribal Headquarters. Kyrie's late mother is from the area and was a member of the Standing Rock Tribe, and Thursday, he received approval for tribal enrollment. The post says he also received his Lakota name, H'e La, Little Mountain, and there is no doubt this special ceremony would have brought great joy to his mother.
Kyrie played Duke Blue Devils then joined the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2011. He played for the Boston Celtics before joining his current team, the Brooklyn Nets. Kyrie has been named MVP, has won gold at the Olympics with the U.S. National Team, and is also and actor and voice actor. He's been featured on Family Guy, Uncle Drew, Kickin' It, and even We Bare Bears.
If you're a fan of Kyrie Irving, you know that he supported the North Dakota water protectors at Standing Rock and posted about the 2016 demonstrations often. He's also a philanthropist, offering monetary support to many different causes, including support of his tribal community, paying off student debt for strangers, donating to food banks, and even buying and donating a house to the family of the late George Floyd.