The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the Distar reading program on the reading achievement of fifth-grade students in three schools on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. Distar programs were developed to help overcome some of the problems of disadvantaged children. The program is a highly structured one, designed to compensate for the language and reading problems of these children. Several tests were used to determine the effectiveness of the Distar reading program, including a diagnostic reading test, a reading comprehension test, and a self-concept test. The results showed that pupils in a larger mixed-population center exhibited greater reading comprehension and a larger vocabulary than pupils in more remote Indian communities, whether they learned to read in the Distar program or not; Distar pupils in a larger community also showed a greater facility in syllabication than the Distar pupils in the smaller Indian communities; Distar pupils showed less reading comprehension, a smaller vocabulary, and poorer sound discrimination than non-Distar pupils; and there was a positive correlation between reading achievement and self-concept for all pupils in all schools. (Author/TS)