ABSTRACT
The previous chapter has offered an analysis of the locations and sizes of Indigenous populations. This chapter analyzes social determinants of health (education, employment, poverty incidents, inequality, life expectancy and social status etc.) of Indigenous peoples and where they figure in terms of health in a global context. Globalization, a buzzword in the recent analyses of world affairs, refers to the process of increasing interconnectedness among societies such that events in one part of the world increasingly have effects on peoples and societies far away (Castles, 2002; Lawllen, 2004). 1
Globalization has appeared in many different forms, affecting most of the people of the world. A lot of attention has been accorded to the extreme positive and negative impacts that globalization has generated. Similar results can be seen among the Indigenous peoples. Little is known about the influence of social determinants of health in the lives of Indigenous peoples. Yet, it is clear that the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual dimensions of health among Indigenous children, youth and adults are distinctly, as well as differentially, influenced by a broad range of social determinants. These include circumstances and environments, as well as structures, systems and institutions that influence the development and maintenance of health along a continuum from excellent to poor. The social determinants of health can be categorized as distal (e.g. historic, political, social and economic contexts), intermediate (e.g. community infrastructure, resources, systems and capacities), and proximal (e.g. health behaviors, physical and social environment).
