This study guide accompanies a poster series and documentary video about 12 American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian "women of hope." The women vary by age, education, profession, and geographic locale, but they share an unwavering commitment and dedication to their people's struggle to survive and flourish as distinct cultures. The women are Lori Arviso Alvord (Navajo), a surgeon who straddles two cultures; Charlotte A. Black Elk (Lakota), a scholar who supports Lakota traditional stories with Western scientific evidence; Carrie and Mary Dann (Western Shoshone), sisters involved in a 20-year legal battle with the federal Bureau of Land Management; Joy Harjo (Muscogee Creek/Cherokee), poet, musician, and professor; Pualani Kanahele (Hawaiian), teacher and preserver of Hawaiian culture and language; Winona LaDuke (Anishinaabe), Chippewa activist whose work focuses on land rights and environmental issues; Wilma Mankiller (Cherokee), activist and first woman Chief; Muriel Miguel (Kuna/Rappahannock), dancer, actress, and founder of Spiderwoman Theater; Janine Pease-Pretty on Top (Crow), founder and president of Little Big Horn College; Joanne Shenandoah (Oneida), singer and storyteller; Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (Flathead), artist; and Rosita Worl (Tlingit), anthropologist active in cultural preservation. Following biographical profiles of the 12 women, the guide includes reading materials and student activities related to tribal sovereignty, the political role of Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) women, Native women in leadership positions, preservation of Native languages, oral tradition, environmental issues, conservation, music and dance, overcoming negative expectations in school and society, American Indian stereotypes, and creating a "circle of strength" in the classroom. Also included are census facts about Native Americans and a 129-item bibliography. (SV)