The verbal discourse of Yakima children was examined. Conversations with nine Yakima and nine non-Indian children, ranging in age from 3 years 10 months to 5 years 11 months, were tape recorded. Four of the non-Indian children lived on the Yakima Reservation and attended the same preschool program as the Yakima children; the other five lived in the Palo Alto, California, area. Recording time varied from about 20 to 40 minutes, depending on such activities as recess and lunch time. Conversation topics were selected by the children using colored pictures. Discourse features examined were answering and asking questions, interruptions, pauses, and organization of material. It was found that Yakima children: were more eager to engage in conversation but failed to respond to more questions than the non-Indian children, guessed at answers less often, paused longer before answering, never interrupted, asked more questions, never corrected the investigator, and used a narrative register where the non-Indian children used a discourse register. The differences found were attributed primarily to cultural differences. (NQ)