Since 1984 the Navajo Nation has mandated instruction in Navajo language and culture in K-12 schools within its boundaries. In 1998-99, a survey and follow-up interviews with 48 individuals in 20 Navajo communities examined community attitudes and beliefs about the value of Navajo language and culture studies and the extent to which the schools should be involved in such instruction. Across the reservation, attitudes varied greatly with regard to which aspects of Navajo culture should be taught in school, who should be responsible for teaching Navajo language and culture, what level of Navajo fluency students should achieve, and how much of the school day should be devoted to Navajo language and culture. Respondents' attitudes were related to age, personal experience with schooling, and the size and location of the community in which they lived. Those who felt that schools should not teach language and culture were generally in one of three groups: elders and other traditionalists who felt that schools could not appropriately teach sensitive aspects of Navajo culture, those who thought that the role of school was to help the Navajo Nation move into the future, and those who did not trust the schools based on bad personal experiences. (SV)