Kickapoo Nation School, a tribally controlled K-grade 12 school, owned and administered by the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas since 1981, is examined as a case study of the implementation of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 (P.L. 93-638). The tribal school, viewed as a reflection of the tribe's ongoing goal of self determination and sovereignty, is a major shift in the control tribes are given in education for Indians. Because it has had the intention of assimilating Indians to the ways of the dominant society, Indian education from its incipience has differed from other education in America in its content, intent, methods, and development. The changes in federal Indian policy resulting from P.L. 93-638, along with increasingly negative sentiment in the local community of whites toward a growing proportion of Indian students, created the time and circumstances for the Kickapoo tribal school. Even though the Kickapoo school is controlled by the tribe, Bureau of Indian Affairs regulations, the issue of state accreditation, and the need for offering basic educational skills for functioning in the dominant society often conflict with community values and culturally relevant education. Thus, the incompatibility of externally imposed restrictions and tribally-oriented values in education remains. (NEC)