The development and relationship of two dimensions of personality, self esteem and locus of control, were examined in a study of 763 fourth, eighth, and twelfth grade Indian and white children selected from 22 Oklahoma public schools. The students were given the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory and Nowicky-Strickland Locus of Control Scale during the fall of the 1975-76 school year. Results indicated that Indian and white children did not significantly differ in their developmental level of self esteem until the junior high school grades. At that time Indian children were significantly lower in self esteem and this difference persisted through the high school grades. Concerning the development of locus of control, both groups tended to become more internal with age. (Internal control of reinforcement was the degree to which an individual believed his reinforcements were dependent upon his own behaviors; external controls were those forces he felt to be beyond his control, such as luck or chance.) White children perceived themselves as having more control over their actions. The only exceptions to this were found at the twelfth grade and only for males. Locus of control was significantly related to self esteem for both Indian and white children at all three grade levels. For twelfth grade students the relationship varied according to ethnicity; it was significantly stronger for Indians than whites. (DS)