Kyrie Irving‘s fan base has been quite a lot and he has been too in support of others. One such example is the White Shield Warriors which is a basketball team in North Dakota of the Arakawa Nation. As per sources, Kyrie’s reason for support initially comes because of his roots in North Dakota.
Let’s go White Shield Warriors!! My little brothers, Make the Tribe proud.
Hélà
🤞🏾♾— Hélà (@KyrieIrving) February 27, 2023
Kyrie has been supporting the team at the time when he was in the Brooklyn Nets and continues to do so. The White Shield Warriors on the other hand are great fans of the NBA player. In 2021, they were invited to attend one of his matches in Milwaukee. Kyrie after his match met the team giving away his signed shoes to Jesse White and signing on their jerseys too. It was a special moment for the varsity basketball team to meet an NBA player.
Kyrie continues to give his constant support for the team with his tweets as of now. The Mavericks player’s relationship with the team holds deep roots. Let’s take a look at it in detail.
Kyrie Irving’s relation to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
In 2017 Kyrie once discussed his Sioux heritage with ESPN and having a legacy outside of basketball. Kyrie’s honor for his heritage is evident when he wore a Standing Rock’s seal on a new Nike sneaker. His tattoo on the neck of the Standing Rock also represents his connection with his heritage.
A year later, in 2018 Kyrie Irving’s visit to his mother’s Standing Rock Sioux Tribe for the first time deepened his connection more. The tribe resides at the reservation of the North Dakota-South Dakota border. As per sources, Kyrie’s late mother, Elizabeth Ann Larson, was a member who first lived at the reservation until she got adopted. Apart from this, his late grandmother and great-grandparents also have ties with the tribe.
Kyrie Irving has become an official member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, per KFYR-TV.
His mother, Elizabeth Larson, who died when Irving was four years old, is a descendant of the tribe. pic.twitter.com/BEZ3agQpjk
— ESPN (@espn) August 27, 2021
Visiting there he got to know about his tribal heritage and their longtime battle for Dakota Access Oil Pipeline. Along with this, he was honored by the people from his Lakota name Héla, meaning ‘Little Mountain’ and associated with the White Mountain family. He gave an emotional speech on how he felt to be welcomed into his traditional roots. “This is finally meeting my mom’s family in their home. This is family for me now. I had no idea how inclusive this group is and what it means to be part of Standing Rock, be part of the united Sioux nation.” – he said.
Thus, it was Kyrie Irving’s traditions and customs that restricted him to celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas. With his visit, Kyrie is now an official member of the Tribe.
