The EuroLeague rookie explains how he re-discovered his heritage, how proud he is to represent it, and about the messages he offers Native American youth facing difficult situations.
Efes forward Derek Willis on re-discovering his Native American heritage
Interviews
6 Mins read
The life journey of Anadolu Efes Istanbul forward Derek Willis has an origin that is rare in elite pro basketball, having started as he did on a Native American reservation.
Pro players of Native American heritage are relatively few, and even fewer have played on the European side of the Atlantic Ocean.
In the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, Sandy Cohen played two seasons with Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv of Israel. In the EuroCup, Bronson Koenig played one season with Montenegrin side Mornar Bar.
Willis's mother, Trudy, belongs to three Native American tribes: Southern Arapahoe, Creek and Pawnee. As a child, Derek lived in Wyoming on the Wind River Indian Reservation.
"I wanted to represent my heritage and culture, so I felt that it would be cool to have Native American-themed tattoos."
Even though he remembers little of those times, Derek knows the stories of how rough the life was, especially for young people.
"We lived on a farm, but there was one man who owned the property and we were in separate house on another part of the property," Willis explains. "Our nearest neighbor was about two miles down the road, everything was spread out and you really don't have much to do."
As a five-year old, Derek moved with his dad to Kentucky.
"When me and my dad left to go back to Kentucky, you get out of that environment and then, you're just a kid, not really worried about culture and where you come from," Willis said.
Once he arrived at University of Kentucky, a collegiate powerhouse with a fan base not unlike those seen in Europe, Willis had a desire to re-discover and learn more about his Native American heritage, an idea that was sparked by a the many Native Americans who were already following and supporting his budding basketball career.
"You have a whole different culture that doesn't even really know you, but they just know you're Native," he says. "And they are wanting you to represent for those kids, and really help them see the light at the end of the tunnel."
One visible and certainly a very personal way to nurture his heritage was putting ink on his body.
"I wanted to represent my heritage and culture, so I felt that it would be cool to have Native American-themed tattoos."
Willis ended up getting four tattoos, and there is always a chance he will get more down the road. Three that are always visible on Willis's arms are a Native American headdress on his left shoulder, a skull on his right shoulder and a Dreamcatcher on his left forearm. He also has a wolf on his rib cage.
"They all represent Native American culture. The Native American chief is huge in Native American culture. It's your leader, he's done a lot to get to that position," Willis says.
Then, there was his desire to find a way to help Native American community. In the position Willis was in at the time, a college basketball star playing for one of biggest basketball schools in the entire United States, automatically made him a role model for the Native American youth. So, visiting reservations and doing basketball camps was a chance to try to make the difference.
"The culture is slowly dying off. The language is pretty much dead now. The people are just holding on."
On one hand, that led to Willis seeing many beautiful things, but on the other, it re-affirmed for him the deeply rooted problems Native American population is dealing with.
"The nature is beautiful. If you like being outdoors, it's great to go see, go visit," Willis said.
"Also, in the reservation I grew up on, they have this festival called the Sun Dance Festival where you fast for three days. You don't eat, you just drink water. And the whole time you pray. It was just such a cool experience to see, and just be a part of that and see how these people were preparing for it."
Willis also got to witness how much Native American kids love sports, and how basketball is particularly popular among them.
"Basketball is definitely huge out there. A lot of the kids, they do cross-country, track and then basketball."
But Willis also has seen many alcohol, drugs and gambling issues, with many people living off U.S. government checks they receive through their tribes. That is in addition to the fact that many Native Americans don't feel that they're well represented.
"It's almost getting to the point where they're not forgotten, but the culture is slowly dying off. The language is pretty much dead now. The people are just holding on to what they have," Willis said.
These are all sad realities of the Native Americans' life. And while Willis does not have a quick solution, one point he always tried to make across was: Just want more for yourself. He hopes his example can motivate young people to do that if they see that "this [guy] came from where I come from, and if I just stick to it, really try and pursue something, then I can get out of this situation."
Efes forward is realistic, however, when he says that things are far from being just that easy.
"I'm not around the kids daily to really affect them. I hope I can affect them in some sort of way. But I want that whole culture to just want more for themselves. That's the point I was wanting to give to the kids," Willis says. "And if I can give them some kind of initiative, that's great."