This report summarizes two joint sessions held by the Indian Nations At Risk Task Force and the National Advisory Council on Indian Education to hear testimony on issues in Native American early childhood education. Issues and problems fell into the areas of: (1) Head Start, its funding problems, and its relationship to public and Bureau of Indian Affairs schools; (2) early childhood programs, the need for such programs to prepare preschool children for the increasingly academic demands of kindergarten, culturally biased assessment tests in kindergarten, and de facto segregation among different programs; (3) entrance into kindergarten, school readiness problems, and shortage of kindergarten slots in states where it is not mandatory; (4) increasing education requirements and low salaries for early childhood teachers; (5) parent education, parent advocacy training, and parent participation; (6) financial problems in child care on American Indian reservations; (7) bilingual education issues and promotion of language acquisition and communications skills in young children; and (8) lack of programs for urban American Indians not enrolled in recognized tribes. Recommendations are offered, and exemplary programs are described that involve school-based day care for teen parents and students, preschool programs incorporating Native language and culture, and an urban Indian center that preserves Indian identity among members of 72 tribes. Several pieces of relevant research are noted. (SV)