ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on some of the conceptual problems associated with the cultural defense. It shows the view that the ideology of cultural pluralism does not require the adoption of the cultural defense, mechanisms already exist within the American legal system which can take culture into account, and the consequences of utilizing the cultural defense would be highly undesirable. Since the government arranged to bring refugees to the United States, one could advance the argument that the government is responsible for ensuring that new citizens become familiar with particularly important American laws. Federal law has allowed Native American societies some limited rights of self-government but has retained control insofar as violent crimes are concerned. There are numerous cases in which the conduct of Native Americans has been judicially evaluated, and in some of them courts have been willing to take culture into account.
