The first Native American studies programs, created in the rising political consciousness of the late 1960s and early 1970s, arose from a rejection of traditional curricula and challenged stereotypes of Indians and their history. During the 1980s, Native studies programs became vehicles to recruit and retain American Indian students, reflecting concerns over minority attrition rates and affirmative action. In the late 1980s and into the 1990s, the increasingly multicultural makeup of American society and the emerging global economy focused attention on multiculturalism and cultural diversity in college curricula. One of the most notable trends in Native American studies has been the emergence of tribal colleges fostered by the American Indian Higher Education Consortium. These colleges offer courses that play an important role in preserving tribal cultural identity. From political confrontation to affirmative action to multiculturalism, the presence of American Indians as both subjects of scholarship and scholars in their own right has created a new field of study that incorporates ideas such as tribal sovereignty, the relationship of cultural identity to land, the importance of culture in understanding the effects of first contacts between Europeans and Native Americans, the significance of Native languages as cognitive structures, and treaties and treaty rights. Several disciplines are involved, primarily anthropology, history, literary criticism, and legal studies. Native American studies has thus promoted a model of truly interdisciplinary learning. Contains endnotes and a bibliography. (TD)