Young American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children are four times as likely to live in rural communities as in nonrural communities. The challenge of providing developmentally and culturally appropriate early childhood education to Native children living in rural areas is exacerbated by poverty. The author reviews the historic evolution of early education in AI/AN communities, from practices before Europeans arrived in North America to 19th and 20th century tribal efforts to combine traditional education with opportunities to succeed in the wider world. In contrast, federal policy on the education of Indian children focused on forced assimilation. The authors describe an initiative by the National Center for Rural Early Childhood Learning Initiatives of the Mississippi State University Early Childhood Institute to fill the gap in research about the education and development of very young AI/AN children. They argue that developmentally appropriate curricula for Native young children from birth through 8 years should include tribe-specific cultural components; instructional strategies that relate to tribal customs; adherence to state and/or federal guidelines as well as tribal guidelines for enhancing children's learning outcomes; and practices that meet criteria for accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The key to developing a curriculum that meets these multiple goals is family and community involvement in the process. Continual review of a tribe's early childhood curriculum can help to preserve and reinvigorate tribal values, traditions, and language among all members of the tribal community.