Mentally health communities: Aboriginal perspectives

The purpose of the current collection of papers is to promote dialogue on what may contribute to mentally healthy communities, with a focus on Aboriginal Peoples’ perspectives, recognizing the diversity of First Nations, Inuit and Métis groups. With the present set of papers, the Canadian Population Health Initiative (CPHI) continues to build on the momentum generated by its 2008 publication, Mentally Healthy Communities: A Collection of Papers.1 The current compilation offers an additional cross-section of perspectives. Many other viewpoints exist, and it is anticipated that these collections will inspire ongoing dialogue. This work reflects CPHI’s ongoing commitment to fostering a better understanding
of the factors that may affect the health of individuals and communities.2

CPHI commissioned the six papers that form the current collection from individuals whose work relates to Aboriginal mental health through their involvement in the domains of research, clinical practice, and program and policy development.i In order to provide context for the respective contributions, the authors were asked to address the following questions:
• What are mentally healthy communities?
• What makes some communities more mentally healthy or resilient than others?