A $100,000 study covered by Health Canada released Monday says the infant mortality rate for First Nations babies in Canada, the Unites States, Australia and New Zealand is up to four times that of other newborns. Dr. Janet Smylie, a researcher at the University of Toronto, says startling health gaps among such diverse populations suggests social deprivation - not genetics - is to blame.

She also spoke of stereotypical and at times racist treatment received by First Nations people and the legacy of abuse exacerbating illness and death.