Kyrie Irving to be honored by Sioux tribe in ‘homecoming’ ceremony

Lynne Sladky/AP

Sign up for Globe Sports e-mail alerts

Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving, who has Native American roots on his mother’s side, is scheduled to be honored by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota Thursday.

The tribe is referring to the event as a “homecoming” for Irving, and it will include a naming ceremony and performances. Irving’s mother, Elizabeth Ann Larson Irving, was a member of the tribe’s White Mountain family, which was part of its Bear Soldier District on the South Dakota side of the reservation. She was adopted out of the tribe as a child and died in 1996.

According to the tribe, Irving’s grandmother Meredith Marie Mountain, great-grandfather Moses Mountain and great-grandmother Edith Morisette-Mountain also were members.

“We could not be more excited; he has made us all very proud,” said Standing Rock Sioux Tribe chairman Mike Faith. “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 has a tattoo of the tribe’s logo on the back of his neck, and his Nike N7 shoe that was released this summer has the logo on the heel and the insole of the sneaker.

View this post on Instagram

The hardest thing to do sometimes is accept the uncontrollable things life throws at you. You try consistently to learn, grow, and prepare everyday to equip your mind, body, and spirit with tools to deal with some of those things, but I feel when those moments arise they all give you a sense of unfulfillment, simply because it puts some of your professional journey and goals on a brief hold. It's simply a test of your perseverance and Will, to be present, even in the wake of what's going on. In this case, finding out I have an infection in my knee is definitely a moment that I now accept and move past without holding on to the all the what ifs, proving the nay-Sayers completely f***ing wrong, and accomplishing the goals I've set out for the team and myself. This season was only a snapshot of what's to come from me. Trust Me. "The journey back to the top of Mt. Everest continues." #StandingRockSiouxTribe Let's go Celtics!! Celtics fans, I look forward to hearing how loud it gets in the TD Garden during the playoffs and experiencing how intense the environment gets. Thank you all!

A post shared by Kyrie Irving (@kyrieirving) on Apr 5, 2018 at 10:38am PDT