the pathstar blog

SAVE THE DATE!! Our documentary “From the Badlands to Alcatraz” has been selected for the 34th annual American Indian Film Festival. It will screen Wednesday, November 11, in the noon program at the Embarcadero Center Cinema, One Embarcadero Center, San Francisco.

It’s happened!! Our seventh annual PATHSTAR Alcatraz swim took place October 12. Cheered on by the crowd who were on Alcatraz Island for the Indigenous People’s Day sunrise ceremony, Tamatane I’atala (Oglala Sioux Tribe, Pine RIdge, SD), Nakina Mills (Oglala Sioux Tribe, Pine Ridge, SD), Terry Mills (Oglala Sioux Tribe, Pine Ridge, SD) and Odin Peter-Raboff (Gwich’in Athabascan from Interior Alaska) jumped from the M/V Dauntless and, with an escort of swimmers, rowboats, kayaks, paddle boards, and power boats, swam the crossing successfully.

The Alcatraz swim was the culmination of our 2009 San Francisco based program which included practice swims in the San Francisco bay, hiking up and down San Francisco hills, walking the Golden Gate Bridge, Pilates, yoga, meditation, kayaking, visits to ER Taylor Elementary School and Presidio Hill Elementary School, nutrition education and food preparation. Always, special thanks to the South End Rowing Club for the enthusiastic community welcome to the PATHSTAR guests. Huge thanks to everyone who donated, coached, taught, piloted, shopped, cooked, shared so generously of time and wisdom and generally cheered us on. Your energy, enthusiasm, and contributions make PATHSTAR a vibrant healthy community.

It’s coming up soon!! Our seventh annual PATHSTAR Pine Ridge/San Francisco program will be taking place October 5-12. The Alcatraz swim will take place on October 12. We will be welcoming some returnees and newcomers from Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, and we will be expanding our horizons this year to include a member of the Athabascan tribe from Fairfanks, Alaksa. The group will participate in a week of events focusing on healthful life style and nutritional habits culminating with the swim from Alcatraz.

Our guests will take back their experiences and ideas to help influence change in their communities. We need your support to help make this our best year yet. Please let us know if you would like to help and in what capacity.

SWIM HELP: Each PATHSTAR swimmer will need a ‘buddy’ swimmer to accompany them each time they enter the water, starting with their first swim October 5 through the Alcatraz swim. No cold water swimming programs exist in South Dakota or inland Alaska, and most of the guests have limited swimming experience. Therefore a calm, reassuring countenance and bay swimming experience are much more important than coaching ability. Please contact Trudy Molina (510-332-9057: tmolina@cwo.com) to volunteer for swim help.

PILOTING: We will need pilots and co-pilots for our October 11 practice swim and the October 12 Alcatraz swim. Please contact Jon Meyer (jonmeyer_sf@yahoo.com: 415-606-5314) to volunteer for pilot help.

BREAKFAST OCTOBER 12: Please contact Tina Lowden (tina@lowdenassoc.com: 510-530-0623) to help with our post-Alcatraz breakfast preparation and cleanup.

GENERAL SUPPORT: As is the case for many organizations, we have had increasing costs and financial challenges this year. Any and all financial donations are hugely appreciated. Please send donations to

PATHSTAR
601 Van Ness Suite E711
San Francisco, CA 94102-3200

And, if you have a way you’d like to volunteer that doesn’t fit the abovecategories, please let us know: info@pathstar.org.

Dear PATHSTAR friends and supporters,

We want to express our appreciation for your continued encouragement and support. Huge thanks to everyone who was able to join us at our fundraiser on May 15 at the Fior D’Italia Restaurant in San Francisco! Your energy, enthusiasm and contributions made the event a vibrant and successful occasion.
Our seventh annual PATHSTAR Pine Ridge/San Francisco program will be taking place October 5-12.

The Alcatraz swim will take place on October 12. We will bring another varied group of Lakota people from the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and other communities to participate in a week of events focusing on healthful life style and nutritional habits culminating with the swim from Alcatraz.

Our guests will take back their experiences and ideas to help influence change in their communities. We ask for your contributions and support to help make this year our best yet. We have had various offers of help and encourage any of you who are interested in volunteering for the program this year to get in touch with us. We do not want to leave anyone out so please let us know if you would like to help and in what capacity.

More here.

From the Norman Transcript.

Baker joins elite company with activist efforts

Michael Kinney
The Norman Transcript

Caitlin Baker is once again showing a person can never be too young to make a difference. 

The 14-year old Norman athlete was chosen by the Women’s Sports Foundation to feature in the future Billie Jean King International Women’s Sports Center. 

Baker caught the attention of the Foundation when she started her own non-profit organization called C.A.I.T.L.I.N. B., which stands for Competitive American Indians Turning Lifestyles Into New Beginnings. 

Despite her young age, Baker works to promote swimming, sports participation and healthy lifestyles to Native American youth. She will also be featured on Good Morning America for her work. 

Read the rest here.