Comparing Health Status: Native peoples of Canada, Aborigines of Australia, and Maoris of New Zealand.

European settlers in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand each developed similar policies in dealing with the indigenous peoples of the land they colonized. As a result of contact with the Europeans, these peoples experinced dispossession, deprivation, and demographic decline. Their morbidity and mortality retes are consistently higher than those of the nonindigenous population. To achieve further improvement in their health status, indigenous peoples must begin to play a dominant role in the planning and delivery of health care services.