This teaching unit was written to supplement the curriculum of intermediate and secondary teachers in Washington State. The material is applicable to social studies classes, special events and American Indian studies. The unit includes an extensive account of the various historical periods in American Indian Education, beginning with initial contacts with white settlers in the late 15th century. The document reports on mission schools set up by churches and covers the period following 1871, a time when Indians lost control of their educational systems. In boarding schools, for example, Indian children were confronted with a school culture and curriculum vastly different from their tribal reality. There is also a section on the New Deal of the 1930s and the Meriam Report, a 1928 survey of Indians' social and economic conditions. A section on legislation explains several acts passed by Congress and their effects on Indian education. The period immediately following World War II was perceived as a time of regression, when the government withdrew services. Since the 1960s, however, a number of studies, reports, and legislative acts have been directed at improving the American Indian educational system. In 1972, Congress passed the Indian Education Act, allocating $18 million to improving education for Indian students. The unit concludes that cultural conflict was most evident during the 19th and early 20th centuries, when the federal government attempted to bring American Indians into the mainstream of society. The unit includes an Indian Education Chronology, study questions, and 22 footnotes. (TES)