As tribes and individuals, Indians claim dual rights in American society. Granted full citizenship in 1924, Indians are entitled to all protections and benefits enjoyed by other citizens, including free public education for their children. As the original inhabitants of the United States, Indians also claim rights accruing to no other population groups based on treaties signed between individual tribes and the Federal Government between 1778 and 1871, acts of the U.S. Congress to implement the treaties and provide for the general welfare of Indian people, and court decisions upholding the validity of treaties and special legislation to deal with Indian matters. This summary, written for the layman with special emphasis on education, reviews the treaty guarantees made by the Federal Government and the services actually provided under the guarantees. It summarizes congressional intent, from the end of the treaty period to the present, in assigning responsibilities for Indian affairs to a number of Federal agencies. Finally, it examines the consistency with which the courts have upheld the concept of dual Federal responsibility to Indian citizens, as expressed in treaties and general law. As the nation seeks to redress past failures and to develop a Federal policy responsive to Indian needs in the years ahead, it should be recognized that the legal and judicial history tends to support the Indian claim of dual rights--both by treaty and special Congressional acts and by inherent rights of citizenship. (Author/NEC)