In Native contexts, art has an existential importance for preserving and perpetuating both communal and individual identity and wholeness, which is qualitatively different from art's more marginalized place in modern Western capitalist societies. As such, art in all its forms is understood in an educational context, such as the Navajo Nation's Diné College, to be on a continuum of understanding about the natural processes of the world that include not only the biological, physical, and social sciences, but also the arts and humanities. They are all intertwined and interrelated--and essential to human life. Given the instinctive Navajo cultural attachment and personal devotion to art, the comprehensive educational philosophy of Diné College, and the central place the arts and humanities hold within that philosophy, the college presents the possibility of a fascinating experiment in non-conformity. Tribal colleges and universities could be places of resistance to the outcomes-driven criteria and technological preoccupation now typical of American education. Ideally, these institutions would create their own accreditation body that would reflect the alternative values of learning, success, and human thriving that Native peoples hold. Yet even now, Diné College and other tribal colleges can help provide a balance of wisdom and complementarity to a wider society that will be greatly impoverished without proactive protection and appreciation for the rich diversity of the varieties of human knowledge.