The Sioux Falls Argus Leader continues its series on race relations in high school athletics.

Mackenzie Casey, a high school basketball standout, grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation. As the child of a Lakota mother and a white father, he says he endured racial taunts when he played games on and off the reservation.

He's now considered a "hero" to Pine Ridge youth, said his coach at South Dakota State University. Casey received an academic scholarship to the school, where he is a junior.

Reservation schools are home to many athletic stars but Wayne Carney, the director of the South Dakota High School Activities Association, said he never set foot on one until recently. His visit to Pine Ridge convinced him to set up a Native American Advisory Council to ensure Native views are heard.

Get the Story:
'He's like a hero to those kids' (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 10/3)
Director reaches out to reservations (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 10/3)
Drumbeat of diversity (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 10/3)

Related Stories:
Paper examines race relations on sports field (10/2)
Lawsuit another sign of rocky Indian-white relations (07/18)
Tribe, ACLU accuse school district of discrimination (6/24)
Teens charged for shooting at Sioux girls (11/16)
Teen admits shooting at Lakota girls (11/13)