2. SOUNDBITE (English) Kyrie Irving, Boston Celtics Basketball Star:
"Knowing that my mom left me with such a powerful, empowering family such as Standing Rock and all of the Sioux nations. I mean to be a part of it now, and not just as a outside supporter but knowing that is family for life. And who can make us any closer? Our journeys have been directed in so many different ways, but yet we are still standing here, August 23rd, 2018 embracing each other as if we have not lost any time."
Standing on a bison pelt, Boston Celtics star Kyrie Irving was smudged with sacred grasses, presented with traditional quilts and eagle feathers and given a Lakota name that means "Little Mountain" as he was welcomed Thursday into his mother's Standing Rock Sioux tribe.
The All-Star guard and his sister, model Asia Irving, visited the tribe's reservation that straddles the North Dakota-South Dakota border for a daylong celebration recognizing their tribal heritage and support for the tribe's long battle against the Dakota Access oil pipeline.
In front of a packed auditorium, they were honored with Lakota names during a ritual that tribal spokeswoman Danielle Finn said "is a very special rite of passage for a Lakota person."
Kyrie Irving's Lakota name, Hela, is roughly pronounced (HAY'-law) and means "Little Mountain." Asia Irving's name, Tatanka Winyan, (tuh-TONG'-kuh WEE'-yun) means "Buffalo Woman." Both are associated with their White Mountain family.
The Irvings' late mother, Elizabeth Ann Larson, was a member of the tribe and lived on the reservation until her adoption at a young age. Their late grandmother and great-grandparents also have ties to the reservation.
