Indian boot camp ends with swim from Alcatraz

Members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota once again took part in a unique health program in San Francisco, California.

Nancy Iverson, a doctor who grew up in South Dakota, started Pathstar five years ago. She wants to help tribal members improve their eating and exercise habits.

Participants spend a week learning about a healthy lifestyle. Then they make the big plunge -- a 1.2-mile swim from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco.

Not everyone completes the swim. But some come back again to take another shot. "That water is cold, and I'm not very good at swimming," Alkapoane White Calf, 22, told The San Francisco Chronicle of his second try this year.

Get the Story:
From Indian reservation to health boot camp (The San Francisco Chronicle 10/4)

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Oglalas to swim from Alcatraz to San Francisco (9/15)