Basketball tournament in Six Nations honours Dylan Isaacs's dream of bringing the sport to Indigenous youth

CBC

a day ago

It was a few months after his death that Dylan Isaacs's friends approached his family and asked if they could do a basketball tournament in Six Nations of the Grand River, honouring the 30-year-old.
"[Isaacs] always talked about bringing basketball to our community more, and especially for the youth," said his aunt, Cecelia Sky.
Now, 19 months after he was killed, the second annual Dylan Isaacs Memorial Basketball Tournament is underway this weekend and it has become something he'd be "over the moon" with, Sky said.
The event brings in several, mostly Indigenous, basketball groups from all over the U.S. and Canada, and this year, they accomplished their initial goal of having part of the event aimed at youth from the community.
Isaacs was a member of the Cayuga Nation. On January 7, 2024, he was leaving a NFL stadium with his friends in Miami, Fla., when he got into an argument with someone who was driving erratically, according to police.
The driver allegedly pulled a gun and shot Isaacs to death, Miami Gardens police said at the time. CBC contacted police there this week for an update on the investigation but they did not respond.
"He's really missed. He was a big presence in our family," said Sky, adding kids in the community looked up to him.
"He was a big guy, big tall guy, and his personality was just as big as him."
His mother and Sky's sister, Sue Sky-Isaacs, told CBC Hamilton a few days after his death "he was a character in everything he did."
"He was full of love and we loved him."
The family was on board to make Isaacs' basketball dream a reality and formed a committee with his friends to organize the first tournament, which took place Aug. 22 to 25, 2024.
This year, the event is underway once again, and they're inviting everyone to come by and watch.
'He'd be just loving this'
Sky said those coming out to play are "high level" teams.
"So if anybody likes basketball, you know, they should come and watch."
The tournament includes teams from the Seneca and Buffalo nations in New York, the Oneida Nation in Wisconsin, the Makah Nation in Washington, the Seminole Nation in Florida, which Isaacs played with, and more.
This year, in addition to the tournament, organizers also held a youth skill camp for Six Nations kids aged 10 to 14 where they gave away running shoes and basketball t-shirts. The skill camp ended Thursday with a small competition and lunch.
"The kids were just happy to get their gifts," said Sky. "They sat down and put their shoes on right away and it was just awesome."
Sky said it was an "overwhelming feeling" seeing the skill camp become a reality.
"It's something that [Isaacs] always wanted to bring to the community," said Sky.
"It's unfortunate that we had to wait until he passed to do that kind of thing, because we know he'd just, he'd be just loving this."
She said the community in Six Nations has been very supportive and feels their goal of bringing more eyes to basketball in the region is on its way to being achieved.
Finals will take place on Sunday with a smoke dance contest in between the men's and women's matches.
Entry is free to the games, which take place at Six Nations's Dajoh Youth and Elders Centre at 1738 Fourth Line. Organizers are also encouraging attendees to buy merchandise and participate in auctions and events going on to keep the skill camp going for next year.