TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — A sporting event started in Tucson Friday.
The Lori Piestawa National Native Games are in the Old Pueblo for the first time ever.
It's a sporting event that involves indigenous people from all over the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
The games are named after the first native woman, Lori Piestawa who was killed in battle in the U.S.
Her son is in Tucson for the games and says they're a great way to honor his mother and their heritage.
Brandon Whiterock said "It was a huge part of my mom's life and it was also a huge part of our life too, as well. And growing up in a native community, it's all we basically have. We have like a little grocery town or like stores here and there, but that's what we grow up in. Playing sports is just like...In the end, sports kept us out of trouble. Sports kept us in school."
Whiterock says they picked Tucson to try and reach as many communities as possible.
He says one thing he loves to see is the look on the face of native kids when they see the city for the first time.
