The Rural Special Education Project (RSEP) is a school-based, special education teacher preparation program located on the Navajo Reservation. The program, which is a partnership between Northern Arizona University and Kayenta Unified School District, immerses Anglo participants in Navajo culture and heightens their awareness of cross-cultural and linguistic barriers to teaching and learning. About half of participants are Anglo American and half are Native American. RSEP prepares future teachers for work on the reservation. Native participants share their traditions with non-Native participants, who keep a record of taboos and cultural beliefs that could result in misunderstandings in the classroom. Among the 18 participants during the 1994-95 school year, both Native and non-Native students felt that they had benefitted from the program and would be more confident in the classroom. Anglo American students had experienced what it is like to be a minority, had adapted to a slower-paced simpler lifestyle, and felt that they would understand their Navajo students better. Native American students were able to take classes without relocating away from their families, and had gained a new perspective on Anglo culture. RSEP brings two cultures together in a positive way and promotes cross-cultural awareness and sensitivity. (SV)