As one in a series of eight articles written by different professionals concerned with Alaska Native land claims, this article focuses on the isolated rural village and its problems in understanding and acting upon the provisions of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1972. Designed to stimulate careful political/historical reading and discussion, this booklet presents 13 open-ended questions for group discussion. Major issues covered in the text of this article include: (1) the economically disadvantaged aspects of village life; (2) cultural differences; (3) educational problems (emphasis on the poor quality of Bureau of Indian Affairs schools and the tremendous cultural adjustment necessary for those students who must attend high school away from home; (4) transportation problems (emphasis on the fact that Natives are generally unaware of the monies available to them for improvements); (5) the sanitation and health problems of rural villages; (6) rural population and leadership losses; (7) the lack of police and/or emergency protection; (8) lack of village communication with legislative processes and the need for village leadership to interpret Native rights; (9) an assessment of past legislation which should have benefited the Native villager but did not; and (10) a plea for rural Native interest in and comprehension of the Settlement Act. (JC)