An indigenous woman captured a nursing staff’s deplorable behavior on Facebook Live before dying on Monday in a Quebec hospital.

According to Global News Canada, Joyce Echaquan of the Atikamekw Nation of Manawan tribe was admitted to a Joliette hospital for stomach pains where she did not receive adequate care.

The 37-year-old mother of seven recorded the seven-minute video where she was subjected to verbal abuse and ridiculed by the nursing staff as she pleaded for them to help her. The footage captured Echaquan speaking in Atikamekw as at least two nurses belittled her in French.

On this #OrangeShirtDay, remember that this mother of seven had to film her own death at the hands of the people who were supposed to help her.
I am deeply ashamed. We need to do better. #JoyceEchaquan
#Reconciliation
#JusticeForJoyce
pic.twitter.com/oRUJP4vdjA

— Kristina Sigurdson-Legrand (@heytherered) September 30, 2020

A family friend disclosed that Echaquan feared going to the hospital because she’d experienced discrimination during previous visits.

Reginald Echaquan, the woman’s cousin, translated the dialogue with Global News.

“She said, ‘They’re giving me a lot of medication, come and get me, they’re giving me too much medication,” he said.

Echaquan informed the staff that she had a pacemaker due to a heart condition, and the morphine they’d given her could cause complications.

According to the University of Michigan Health website, morphine’s side effects “can slow or stop your breathing, and death may occur.”

Atikamekw Nation

Get relevant content delivered to you once a week