The paper presented biographical sketches of many prominent contemporary model American Indians from the Lower Brule community and identified qualities that make them outstanding members of their community. The study followed these 4 steps: (1) review current literature for historical background; (2) interview tribal members from the Lower Brule Indian Reservation to get the names of the persons they feel are their models; (3) interview each model person to obtain information for the biographic sketches via the check-list used for their study; and (4) write the biographic sketches from the data and present them in a project paper. The most significant qualities found among the Lower Brule model Indians were their activities to improve their own community and the efforts that were being made to bring in outside services. These 20 biographical sketches were written from an Indian point of view, and hopefully will help teachers and school administrators understand cultural differences in the community. (FF)