This report, written for the Americans for Indian Opportunity "Ambassador Program," addresses the need to research the detrimental effects of the guardianship program on Native Americans. The guardianship program was established by the United States government during the early 1900s to protect monies that Indians received from mineral and oil discovered on their allotments. Unfortunately, many Indians did not comprehend the complicated Euro-American laws and policies concerning land ownership. Few Indians who were in the guardian program gained anything or benefited from this policy. Angie Debo, author of "And Still the Waters Run," characterizes the guardianship program as a severe injustice to Native Americans and describes the prejudicial attitudes of the government and American people toward Indians. In 1924, Gertrude Bonnin was a research agent assigned to the Indian Welfare Committee, who studied the Indian probate situation in eastern Oklahoma. Although the report made strong recommendations to remedy the guardianship situation, most were never enacted. Other than Ms. Debo's and Ms. Bonnin's work, there are few reports or books that investigate the guardianship issue. A problem contributing to this lack of research could be the shortage of Indian scholars, historians, and researchers. This paper suggests that more research needs to be done on this topic, as the issue still affects American Indians today. Oral history, cross-referenced with other types of research, is an excellent method for linking the past to the present and investigating the guardianship issue. (LP)