Dear Colleague,

Welcome to Spring and the first issue of the year!

The March issue, which is OPEN ACCESS, is dedicated to statistics for Indigenous peoples and has the theme: “Measuring Indigenous Identification.” Michele Connolly is the guest editor.

Ms. Connolly is an associate editor for our journal. You can read more about her in the interview with Katherine Condon.

“This special edition of the journal is a way of highlighting that we as Indigenous people are still here and that we have an important story to tell.”
Michele Connolly, Co-Chair of the International Group for Indigenous Health Measurement.

Five countries are featured: Australia, Brazil, Canada, US and New Zealand. In addition to identification the manuscripts focus on health.

“Establishing meaningful ethnicity classification standards and rules is part of the solution to producing improved health measurement for Indigenous people.”
John Waldon, author of “Identification of Indigenous People in Aotearoa - New Zealand - Ngā mata o taku whenua.”

“As countries work to close the gap in health outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations, it is time to rethink how official statistics and health data are collected with a much greater focus on the collection and use of data on the need for, availability, and effectiveness of health services”
Mashford-Pringle, Ring, Al-Yaman, Waldon, and Chino, authors of "Rethinking Health Services Measurement for Indigenous Populations."

“This study has shown the value of data and its essential role in promoting Indigenous health and equity pertaining to suicide.”
Brenda Elias, author of “Reflecting back to move forward with suicide behavior estimation for First Nations in Canada.”