Disability research and program evaluation have generally been viewed with suspicion in Indian country because research designs, procedures, instruments, and interpretation and dissemination of outcomes have often ignored potential cultural conflicts. This paper explores a national evaluation in eight tribal communities that established systems of care for children with serious emotional disturbances and their families. Examples of psychological and evaluation research in Indian country are briefly reviewed. A first step toward identifying challenges that Native children and their families face, and toward identifying strengths and weaknesses of service systems available to them, is to understand the extended family system of care. Systems of care and the "wraparound process" are culturally relevant concepts for service delivery. The federally funded Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and Their Families program has supported development of systems of care in 43 states, including 8 tribal communities. These eight tribal programs and their common structures and approaches are described, focusing on culturally appropriate assessment instruments and interventions. Evaluation of these programs is described, including system-level assessment of infrastructure and service delivery, longitudinal outcome study, language and translation issues, and how cultural incongruities between the national and tribal evaluations were handled. Community empowerment was enhanced through extensive, collaborative relationships between the evaluation teams and community-based advisory committees. (Contains 48 references.) (SV)