The family of an Indigenous woman in Canada is demanding justice and accountability after her death. Jaali Weenie-Sutherland, a member of the Beardy’s & Okemasis Cree Nation, began experiencing concerning health issues during her pregnancy. She went to several hospitals before finding out that she was experiencing pre-eclampsia. Those who have been pregnant know that’s a really serious diagnosis that must be handled quickly.
Sadly, that’s not what happened for the first-time mom. Her family claims she was left for hours, and they believe that lack of treatment led to her death. Now, they are left to raise her baby alone while preserving her memory.
The family didn’t say if she had experienced issues before that day.
The 24-year-old was 36 weeks pregnant when she began experiencing back pain and vomiting on April 25, 2026, CBC reported, citing a news conference held by Sutherland-Weenie’s family on May 25. She was taken to one hospital before being transferred to another, finally ending up at Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital, where she was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia.
According to the Mayo Clinic, if left untreated, “preeclampsia can lead to serious — even fatal — complications for both the mother and baby.” If a mother is diagnosed with the condition, early delivery is often recommended.
During the news conference, her family said she was kept in an observation room for about 14 hours before being taken to a labor and delivery room on April 26. Two hours later, she was dead. Thankfully, her baby girl survived.
The family hasn’t seen the autopsy report, so they don’t know her official cause of death. They believe, however, that if it wasn’t for the failings of the healthcare system, she may have survived.
They believe she would have been treated differently if she wasn’t Indigenous, and they are demanding accountability.
“The family wants everybody to understand this is not an isolated tragedy,” family spokesperson Jaye Cameron said during the news conference. “Indigenous women continue to face systematic barriers in health care, where they should be feeling safe.”
Cameron asked an important question, the Saskatoon Star Phoenix reported. “Who made those decisions to leave Jaali in the observation room and not attend to her until it was too late?”
Demands for a fully “transparent investigation” into the death of Weenie-Sutherland have been made by her family, the newspaper reported. Cameron said Weenie-Sutherland, her mother, and her sister all raised concerns about her condition, especially because she said she was in pain and having trouble breathing. However, those concerns were allegedly “dismissed.”
In a statement shared by CTV News, the Saskatchewan Health Authority said it was unable to comment on specific details to protect personal health information.
“Any maternal death during labour or delivery is immediately investigated as a critical incident. This process is underway,” the statement read. The authority also said it had met with Weenie-Sutherland’s family. Additionally, members of its First Nations and Métis Health team are supporting “culturally respectful and compassionate communication.”
Family members are coming together to support the baby.
“Not a day goes by without me thinking of her,” her partner, Blayne Morin, shared during the press conference, per CTV News. “We were just getting prepared for her baby shower and then that’s when everything happened.”
Her mother, Cynthia Weenie, also spoke about the loss. “We were just supposed to embark on this journey of mother, daughter, granddaughter, and now we can’t. My baby Jaali’s gone.”
The family also shared that Weenie-Sutherland was about to graduate with a degree in social work. They will attend the ceremony next month to accept it on her behalf
A GoFundMe account was started by a relative of Morin to help with the costs of unexpectedly becoming a single father.
“On April 26, 2026 Rheya Tayden Jeanne Morin took her first breath and Jaali took her last breath at the same time. A new life came into this world as her mothers ended,” the fundraiser reads.
According to the fundraiser, baby Rheya was taken to the NICU after being born at 36 weeks. In an update posted on April 30, the organizer shared that the baby had been placed on a cooling pad for 72 hours after her birth to “allow her brain to heal after the delivery.” There have been no additional updates.
