Modes of colonisation and patterns of contemporary mental health : towards an understanding of Canadian Aboriginal, Australian Aboriginal and Maori peoples

Fourth World Peoples are those who have been aggressively colonised by more powerful cultures, such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Even though there are differences between health disparities among these three countries, the roots of these statistics lie within the colonisation process, and even model of colonisation. The unrelenting hopelessness and weight of colonisation adds to the poor social determinants of health and high suicide rates. If the goal of nations which are signatory to the World Health Organisation is to 'Close the Gap', this issue needs to be considered.