The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) is field-testing and validating a community-based programming model that stresses collaboration and engagement of its administrators and faculty with native peoples and their elders, rural secondary education personnel, and leaders of other community stakeholder groups. These participants work together in (1) forming and engaging regional alliances or consortiums to identify and resolve critical issues that impact quality of life; (2) designing and implementing curricula that integrate research-based scientific content with native culture, and (3) adapting existing curricula grounded in natural resources education for teaching a variety of subjects in traditional and nontraditional learning contexts. This paper: (1) describes the programming processes and strategies used to interact and collaborate with Alaska’s native peoples, in five rural regions (communities) to implement the three goals; (2) reports outcomes achieved to date; and (3) reports the lessons learned by UAF in its quest to apply its resources in meeting the needs of rural native Alaskans.