Two landmark efforts to describe the condition of American Indian and Alaska Native education nationwide and to call for specific solutions took place in the early 1990s. These efforts were the Indian Nations At Risk Task Force and the White House Conference on Indian Education. This digest summarizes Task Force and Conference recommendations concerning research, development, evaluation, and dissemination needs. Task Force members and Conference delegates recommended: (1) basic research on bilingualism and language development and on fetal alcohol syndrome and effects; (2) applied research on adult illiteracy in Native communities, current adult literacy programs, unmet needs and progress of Native students in higher education, elementary and secondary student enrollment and achievement, Native student strengths related to giftedness, and demography; (3) standardized methods of data collection and reporting, leading to a national database on Native education; (4) development work on alternative assessment or unbiased standardized tests, effective parent support programs, programs for exceptional American Indians and Alaska Natives of all ages, alcohol and substance abuse issues, student performance, and the unique abilities of Native applicants to teacher education programs; (5) evaluation to identify valuable programs and materials concerned with bilingual learning, parent support, and computers and other technologies; and (6) mechanisms for dissemination of research, development, and evaluation results. (SV)