This paper contrasts two theories of cultural conflict and community violence in order to understand conflict between two distinct cultural groups: American Indians and non-Indians.
This paper contrasts Simmel’s (1950) forms to Durkheim’s (1938) types in order to examine cultural offenses to understand conflict between two distinct cultural groups: American Indians and non-Indians. The findings demonstrate the relevance of data collection efforts from small, rural communities, which may have implications for understanding community violence and improved violence prevention efforts. Data from the Southern Ute Indian Community Safety Survey, a U.S.D.O.J.-sponsored study of crime and violence are used to understand cultural crimes in comparison with other crimes. Conflict between the two cultural groups occurs when actions of members of the nonIndian group are contrary to the values of the Indian group.