This paper documents the importance of nonverbal behavior and nonverbal communication across cultures, their relevance to interpersonal communication between ethnicities and cultures, and discusses their relevance to Native Americans. It presents a historical survey, a selective review of the literature, an overview of accepted theories of nonverbal behavior and nonverbal communication, and finally, a synthesis of the theoretical bases of the topic as applicable to Native Americans. The paper's sections are as follows: Rationales for Nonverbal Study; Functional Analysis of Nonverbal Behavior; Nonverbal Behavior versus Nonverbal Communication; Basic Issues in Nonverbal Behavior/Nonverbal Communication Research; Selective Historical Outline of Methodological Development; Theoretical Perspectives (which describes five perspectives: a social skills model, arousal models, an equilibrium model, a sequential function model, and communicative models); Cross-Cultural Nonverbal Communication; Native American Implications; and Overall Conclusions. Twenty-nine pages of references are attached, along with a page of errata. (SR)