'We could not be more excited'

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe honors NBA player Kyrie IrvingBy Kevin Abourezk

Boston Celtics player and five-time NBA All-Star Kyrie Irving will return Thursday to his grandparents’ homeland, the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation

Irving, who won the 2016 NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers and most recently starred in the movie Uncle Drew , will visit the reservation this week as part of a homecoming celebration hosted by the tribe in his honor.

“We could not be more excited,” said Standing Rock Chairman Mike Faith in a news release . “He has made us all very proud. To know that he has not forgotten his roots and is taking the time before he starts his basketball season to visit the People, his People, shows that Kyrie has great character and pride in his heritage.”

Irving’s late mother, Elizabeth Ann Larson, was adopted out of the tribe as a child. His grandmother, Meredith Marie Mountain, and his great-grandparents, Moses Mountain and Edith Morisette-Mountain, were all Standing Rock Sioux citizens. His family lived on the reservation’s South Dakota side.

Irving has known about his Native heritage and was an active supporter of the movement against the Dakota Access Pipeline. He recently released a Nike N7 shoe he designed to honor the water, his tribe and his late mother.

"Irving approached Nike and asked for the tribal seal to be incorporated into the shoe, to pay tribute to his mother’s heritage and to reflect his pride in the Standing Rock Sioux community," the apparel giant says on its website.

Irving also sports a tattoo of the Standing Rock tribal logo on the back of his neck.

The event Thursday will begin at 9 a.m. at the The Pavilion at the Prairie Knights Casino , on the North Dakota side of the reservation. It will include a naming ceremony, performances and a community feed. The event is open to the public.

In addition to playing basketball, Irving is an actor, designer and father.

We 💙 the Kyrie Irving Nike N7 shoes! You can get yourself a pair at: https://t.co/b4V15J5BcV pic.twitter.com/mS1FaY3k3j — Standing Rock Sioux (@StandingRockST) July 28, 2018

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