The National Study of American Indian Education has documented a broad consensus among parents, students, teachers, and influential persons that the most important role of the schools is to prepare Indian students for employment in the dominant economy and for successful lives in the sociocultural mainstream. With occasional exceptions, curriculum for Indian children in both Bureau of Indian Affairs schools and in public schools parallels the curriculum provided to non-Indian students in the public schools. There is virtually no quarrel with the principle that the curriculum for Indian youth should include the very best curriculum provided non-Indian youth, but several major areas stand out as issues of concern. Among these are the inclusion of tribal culture and history in school instruction, language instruction, vocational emphasis, and attention to the dignity of Indian identity. Whatever curriculum developments take place in American education, it is unlikely that Indian parents will want anything less for their children than the same curriculum offered to other Americans. The most outstanding difference, however, is that Indian parents would like the schools to give recognition to Indian identity. (JH)