Contains 18 papers presented at a conference organized by the American Indian Science and Engineering Society and the American Indian Higher Education Consortium held at Colorado State University in June 1997. The theme of this conference was described as "finding ways to integrate Indian community goals, needs, and traditions with mainstream science and science education." The editor divides the book into five parts: education; culture; economic and community development; the land, the people, and science; and science and self-government. All contributors are experience Indigenous professionals working in their respective fields. Overall the presenters stress the need for Indigenous communities to control their relationship with science and education with a goal of benefiting their communities.

1.Fires Need Fuel: Merging Science Education with American Indian Community Needs / Keith James -- 2. Education and American Indian Communities: A History of Pain, a Future of Promise? / Keith James -- 3. Indigenous Consciousness, Education, and Science: Issues of Perception and Language / Cornel Pewewardy -- 4. A Personal Journey into Science, Feminist Science, and Aboriginal Science / Lillian Dyck -- 5. How to Get What Indian Communities Need from Science / Clifton Poodry -- 6. The Native American Honor Society: Challenging Indian Students to Achieve / Frank Dukepoo -- 7. Culture: The Spirit Beneath the Surface / Keith James -- 8. Tradition and Education: The World Made Seamless Again / Oscar Kawageley.