The Institute of Lamanite Research and Services provided Native Americans at Brigham Young University with educational opportunities and resources. Known as the Institute of American Indian Studies and Research, it was renamed the Institute of American Indian Services and Research in 1971. Spencer W. Kimball suggested the name change in order to shift the program's emphasis from researching or studying Native Americans to serving them. The Institute remained affiliated with Brigham Young University, but in 1972 it was transferred from the General College to the Division of Continuing Education, where it continued to extend educational opportunities to Native Americans in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Brigham Young University replaced the institute with Native American Educational Outreach Programs on September 1, 1989. The original program broke off from the university and now operates independently as American Indian Services, a non-profit charity organization.

Dale Thomas Tingey was born on May 5, 1924 in Centerville, Utah to parents Wesley Earl Tingey and Ivy Gladys Parsons Tingey. He worked on his family's farm from a very young age. Dale began taking flying lessons in high school, and he eventually joined the United States Air Force. Later, Dale served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Czechoslovakia. Dale married Jeanette Dursteller on October 27, 1950 in Salt Lake City, Utah. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Utah in 1952, his master's degree from Brigham Young University in 1955, and his doctorate degree from Washington State University in 1957. His career involved extending education to the Native American population. In 1968, he served as a mission president for the Church of Jesus Christ in the Southwest Indian Mission. Dale worked for and eventually became director of American Indian Services in Utah. In 2012, he assumed the title of director emeritus.