As the federal and state governments continue to establish educational policies and procedures to improve the academic achievement levels of American Indian students living on and off the reservations, American Indian students struggle to perform well on standardized tests and meet graduation rates. Furthermore, American Indian students also fall far below the national average for attending higher education upon completing high school. The 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act and its regulations require tribal council leaders and school superintendents to have "meaningful and timely" consultations to address this gap. In this study, I explored the perceptions tribal council members participating in consultation hold of the process and their perception of factors necessary for quality consultations to build relationships and reciprocal communication among tribal and school leaders. For the study, I employed a phenomenological research design in which I interviewed eight tribal leaders who participate in the consultation process. I used a semi-structured interview process to allow all individuals to share their voice and story. I focused on tribal members and a focus group comprised of tribal members participating in the study. Additionally, I examined tribal leaders' perceptions of the factors, in schools on and off the reservation, affecting self-identity and self-determination in American Indian students. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]