Forget "Uncle Drew," Kyrie Irving's new alter ego is "Little Mountain." The Boston Celtics' All-Star point guard was given his Lakota name by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe Thursday at a special ceremony in North Dakota, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst.
"Wearing a traditional shirt with ribbons, Irving stood on a buffalo skin and was prayed over by a tribe elder, Vernon Iron Horse," writes Windhorst. "As a drum group played and chanted, Irving was wrapped in a blanket, had an eagle feather tied into his hair along with a medicine ball made of porcupine quills, and had a beaded medallion placed over his head as his name was revealed to him."
Windhorst reports that Irving's mother, Elizabeth Larson, was a descendant of the Standing Rock Sioux but was adopted out as a small child. Irving has known about his lineage and supported the tribe's fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline two years ago. Additionally, he has the tribe's logo tattooed on the back of his neck and made a six-figure donation to the tribe just a year ago.
Approximately 1,000 people gathered at the Prairie Knights Pavilion today for the naming ceremony, including local high school students, many of whom were wearing the "Standing Rock" colorway of the Nike Kyrie 4. According to Windhorst, many of Irving's distant relatives were also in attendance, dozens of whom wore green Celtics shirts with his #11 and "Welcome home, Kyrie" on them.
Irving's older sister, Asia, was also part of the ceremony and was given the Lakota name Buffalo Woman.
