Joyce Echaquan remembered a year after her death

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JOLIETTE – A ceremony was held on Tuesday to mark the first anniversary of the death of Joyce Echaquan, an indigenous woman who was humiliated by staff at a hospital northeast of Montreal as she was dying, sparking outrage across the country.

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Echaquan, a 37-year-old Atikamekw and mother of seven, filmed herself on Facebook Live when a male nurse was heard making disparaging remarks toward her at Joliette hospital.

On Tuesday, Echaquan’s family visited the hospital room where he died and then participated in a ceremony in his honor with members of the Atikamekw community, politicians and other guests, including Quebec’s Minister of Indigenous Affairs, Ian Lafrenière, and the Deputy Prime Minister Geneviève Guilbault.

Some guests wore a red or pink rose when entering a white tent erected behind the hospital. Others, some in ribbon skirts or sweatshirts with Echaquan’s image, sat on folding chairs outside.

Constant Awashish, head of the Atikamekw First Nation, told reporters that he appreciates that Quebecers are more aware of systemic racism since Echaquan’s death, but said the anniversary is a source of anxiety.

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“It’s a confusing day for people,” he said. “We want better for future generations and better treatment for First Nations in public services, but there is also this anxiety that Joyce Echaquan gave her life for no reason.”

“The feeling of anxiety is that we want the government to recognize the situation and call her by her real name,” he added, referring to the refusal of the provincial government to use the term systemic racism to describe inequalities in Québec society.

In a statement, Lafrenière on Tuesday called on Quebecers to use the day to reflect on relations with First Nations and Inuit peoples and the fight against racism. He said the Quebec government is working with indigenous leaders to address measures proposed by the Atikamekw community after Echaquan’s death to ensure equitable access to healthcare for indigenous patients.

Prime Minister François Legault tweeted on Tuesday that what had happened to Echaquan was a “collective awakening to the discrimination that indigenous peoples still suffer.” He added: “Let’s continue fighting these behaviors that have no place in our society.”

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Echaquan’s home community, Manawan, has announced plans to name a biodiversity reserve in Lac-Nemiscachingue in his honor, and the government says it intends to begin that renaming process. Her husband, Carol Dubé, said in a statement that Echaquan’s memory must not fade and called on everyone to join her fight.

“The door he opened is too important, he can’t have died in vain,” he said. “We owe it to her to continue fighting to end prejudice and address injustices.”

Martin Ménard, a lawyer for the Echaquan family, echoed that sentiment, saying that the Joyce Principle, a policy that would make indigenous people and their needs respected by the health care network, had not yet been adopted. by the province. Accepting the principle would be to acknowledge the existence of systemic racism in Quebec, something the Legault government refuses to do, he said.