Pregnant Indigenous woman died after extended wait for care at Saskatoon hospital, family says

A Saskatchewan family is demanding answers and changes after the death of a 24-year-old woman, which they say happened after she was diagnosed with a dangerous condition and waited hours to receive care.

According to the family, Jaali Weenie-Sutherland hours after she was diagnosed with preeclampsia at a Saskatoon hospital while pregnant with her unborn daughter.

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“Jaali was a daughter, a partner, a sister, a niece, a granddaughter, a friend, a colleague, a classmate and she was supposed to be a mother,” said Jaye Cameron, a family member speaking on behalf of Weenie-Sutherland’s loved ones at Wanuskewin Heritage Park on Monday.

Instead of attending her baby shower as she’d planned, Weenie-Sutherland went to the hospital on April 25 after she began to experience lower back pain and difficulty breathing, and started to cough up blood. Her sister, Janelle Sutherland, said they thought she was going into labour.

Weenie-Sutherland went to Rosthern Hospital before being transferred to Royal University Hospital and then the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital. Her family said she received her diagnosis there, but subsequently spent 13 to 14 hours waiting in an observation room for care.

“If you research preeclampsia, it tells you within the first few hours that something needs to happen. It causes many serious symptoms in a pregnant woman, including death,” Cameron said, claiming Weenie-Sutherland’s concerns were dismissed at the hospital.

Weenie-Sutherland was eventually taken to the labour and delivery unit, her family said, where she died within a few hours, on April 26. Her daughter survived.

A photo of Jaali Weenie-Sutherland displayed on May 25, 2026 at Wanuskewin Heritage Park. (Libby Gray/650 CKOM)

Cameron said Weenie-Sutherland spent the months of her pregnancy speaking with friends and family, pondering being a mom.

“She deserves to be here today, to be raising her here, her baby,” Cameron said to members of the media. “We cannot make any sense of this. We want everyone to know that she was loved deeply, and she loved deeply in return.”

Blayne Morin, Weenie-Sutherland’s partner, said he loved her smile, her random jokes and the love and care she showed to her nieces and nephews. He said she was a “helpful partner, daughter, a friend to all,” and the two were virtually inseparable throughout their relationship.

“She would always be there to give a listening ear when her family or friends were going through something. She would just listen to their situation and she wouldn’t judge,” Morin recalled.

“She really loved all the animals that she came across, including her fur babies. Jaali really enjoyed going on walks along the river, going for ice cream, Starbucks. She really liked going for snacks of cold rolls, green hot dogs from Chungchun’s, and she didn’t mind going on drives just to get out of the house.”

Morin said they would frequently watch the ‘Shrek’ movies together, and said Weenie-Sutherland regularly played Justin Bieber’s music for their unborn daughter during her pregnancy.

Morin said he and his partner were excited to welcome their daughter together, and Weenie-Sutherland would often remind him that he was going to be a dad.

Jaali Weenie-Sutherland’s family members, including her partner Blayne Morin (left), sister Janelle Sutherland and her mother and father (right), during a news conference on May 25, 2026 at Wanuskewin Heritage Park. (Libby Gray/650 CKOM)

Shortly before her death, Weenie-Sutherland had just achieved a big goal by finishing her degree in Indigenous social work, Morin shared, and she was expecting to walk across the stage during her convocation in a few weeks. Now, he said her sister will do that in her place.

Weenie-Sutherland’s mother, Cynthia Weenie, said her daughter loved her family and was building one of her own, dreaming of a wedding in Mexico one day.

“She was my baby girl and we miss her deeply,” Weenie said through tears on Monday.

She said their family has been left with difficult questions and the pain of not understanding exactly what happened to lead to Weenie-Sutherland’s death.

“There’s so many things I want to say, but I just know life is unfair and my daughter is gone,” Weenie said.

“I have a beautiful granddaughter. She left that for us.”

Martin Paul, CEO of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, also spoke about Weenie-Sutherland, who he said had worked as a summer student with the organization for several years.

“Jaali mattered,” Paul said. “She mattered to all of us. Her life mattered, and this family’s questions, concerns, grief and hopes matter. We call upon everyone else in this province to stand up for Jaali going forward.”

Martin Paul, CEO of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, tells members of the media at Wanuskewin that Jaali Weenie-Sutherland’s life mattered during a news conference at Wanuskewin Heritage Park on May 25, 2026. (Libby Gray/650 CKOM)

Cameron said Weenie-Sutherland’s family is devastated but resolute.

“They want answers and accountability and change,” she said. “The family wants everybody to understand this is not an isolated tragedy. Indigenous women continue to face systematic barriers in health care, where they should be feeling safe and comfortable, knowing that they’re going to be taken care of. Their voices are too often ignored, almost to the point where they need somebody advocating for them. Their symptoms are too often minimized.”

Cameron said Weenie-Sutherland had “blatant symptoms” of a serious but treatable condition, but despite advocating for herself, along with her partner and sister, she was ignored.

“Health care is not safe for Indigenous people until it’s free from racism. I’m going to call it what it is,” she stated.

Cameron, on behalf of the family, declined to share any further information about that claim or what else happened at the hospital during Weenie-Sutherland’s visit.

Responding to the incident, the Saskatchewan Health Authority said in a statement that it “extends our sincere condolences to the family and community following the loss of a mother during childbirth earlier this year,” calling the situation a “profound and tragic loss.”

The health authority said the incident, being a maternal death during labour or delivery, is presently under investigation.

“SHA clinical leadership has met with the family, and members of our First Nations and Métis Health team have been engaged to support culturally respectful and compassionate communication,” the health authority added.

“We are committed to continuing to engage directly with the family as the review progresses.”

The health authority said it would not comment on specific clinical details of the case, citing respect for the patient and her family and protecting personal health information.

Tearfully, her family shared farewells and promises for Weenie-Sutherland.

“I’ll forever take care of our daughter, showing her that loving care that you showed me and everybody else that came across you,” Morin vowed.

“We wish you could have experienced motherhood,” Cameron said. “We wish you could have experienced the full delivery of your baby, to hold your baby for the first time, to smell your baby for the first time, to kiss her for the first time and to watch her grow.

“We can only imagine that moment when you took your last breath, you gave it to your babies. That’s what a mother would do.”