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Inaccuracies in the identification of Indigenous status and the collection of and access to vital statistics data impede the strategic implementation of evidence-based public health initiatives to reduce avoidable deaths. The impact of colonization and subsequent government initiatives has been commonly observed among the Indigenous peoples of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. The quality of indigenous data that informs mortality statistics are similarly connected to these distal processes, which began with colonization. We discuss the methodological and technical challenges in measuring mortality for Indigenous populations within a historical and political context, and identify strategies for the accurate ascertainment and inclusion of Indigenous people in mortality statistics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses health performance measurement systems for indigenous peoples in Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. Canada created the Aboriginal Health Reporting Framework. New Zealand chose the He Korowai Oranga as the national strategic framework for Maori health. Australia collaboratively developed a health services framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. The authors suggest that Indigenous health-care performance measurement systems are underdeveloped because they are government-driven systems and do not focus enough on traditional medicine and cultural integrity.