Citation

Lee N. J. Crim. Justice 1995; 23(2): 177-189.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1995, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/0047-2352(95)00005-B

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Indigenous peoples throughout the world are increasingly pressing their claims to land and sovereignty. Their concerns regarding political autonomy and the right to be culturally different from the dominant majority are reflected in the 1993 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as the International Labor Organization Convention No. 169 “Concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries.” Many of the arguments presented by Native peoples in support of their claims revolve around issues which are contained in culture conflict theory, such as the unjust taking of lands, the imposition of alien legal, educational, and religious systems, and the effect of colonialism on Native cultures. This article explores culture conflict theory as a partial explanation for the differences found in socially disruptive behaviors reported by sixteen Alaskan Native villages, half of whom belong to the Yupiit Nation, a sovereignty movement dedicated to political autonomy for Alaskan Natives.