11. Poor Water Quality and Related Health Issues in Remote Indigenous Populations of Some of the World’s Wealthiest Nations

The water supply and sanitation problems in developing countries have received considerable attention, but for similar communities in wealthier countries living conditions are often overlooked. This is particularly true in remote indigenous communities where water supply and sanitation conditions can be compared with those in poor developing countries. It is estimated that indigenous nations constitute some 370 million individuals, representing more than 5000 distinct peoples, living in more than 90 countries in all inhabited continents. Most of them live in developing countries, but there are also significant groups in countries with advanced economies, such as the USA, Canada, and Australia. Two case studies for each of these countries are presented highlighting the barriers to change and some efforts to overcome them in some of these communities.