There are no quick and easy tips to motivating American Indian students into graduate education. The decision to make a commitment of time and money to graduate training, particularly at the doctoral level, and the ability to succeed in such a program, is affected by a number of factors: (1) parental and peer encouragement; (2) awareness of career options; (3) role models; (4) adequate academic preparation at the high school and undergraduate level; and (5) adequate financial and academic support services at the graduate level. No one factor can be identified as most important. Any attempt to motivate students by addressing one of these factors must be undertaken with the awareness that all are related. Teachers and counselors must overcome the lack of effective family and peer support systems for American Indian students at all levels of education. A basic fact is that American Indian adults often cannot motivate children because of their own low levels of education. Tribes can contribute to the process of motivation by providing scholarship support for college education, including graduate education. Most do so now. They should also see that their own community colleges or colleges in neighboring communities upgrade the educational opportunities of tribal members and make a commitment to encourage young people to become college teachers by promising jobs where possible. They might set up loan funds on the model of forgivable loans. For example, students who come back to the reservation to teach would be forgiven a certain part of the loan for each year of service. Most of all, tribes have to see that the development of human resources, their most important asset, is necessary to long-range development plans. They must realize that tribal members can benefit the tribe by being able to teach their college-level skills to future generations. (JHZ)