ABSTRACT
Indigenous peoples, sometimes known collectively as the ‘fourth world’, have undergone profound hardship during centuries of Western colonialism. Currently, 40 percent of the world’s countries contain indigenous populations, who collectively comprise 350 million people, divided into 5,250 distinct nations or tribal groups.1 This chapter explores in brief the struggles encountered by indigenous groups in three Western settler countries – the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. This background chapter lays the basis for the three chapters which follow. First, I outline the case for or against genocide having been committed in the course of Western settlement. I argue that genocide has been committed in both America and Australia, but not in New Zealand. However, this hardly means that race relations are ideal, or that Maori do not have legitimate historical grievances with the government.
