An indigenous woman says she was knocked to the ground by a security guard at a Winnipeg clinic after snapping a photo of him asking two people to leave. She believes the incident was racially motivated.

Vivian Ketchum went to the ACCESS Health Centre on Main Street around 9 a.m. Tuesday morning for an appointment.

"I went to the washroom and then when I came out, there was a black security guard there, and he was just checking to see — doing rounds — and he kind of made me nervous," said Ketchum. "I noticed two aboriginal people sitting in the waiting room, and they looked really cold. They weren't dressed really warm, and the black security guard went, and I could hear him asking them to leave, and that's when I stood up and figured, 'I'll take a picture of it.'"

Ketchum said that's when "everything went downhill."

She said a receptionist told the security guard that Ketchum had taken a photo, and another security guard then asked to speak to Ketchum outside.

She declined.

"Then he grabbed me and kind of took me to the foyer," she said.

After he asked her to leave, she explained she had an appointment and was let back in.

"They realized I had a picture of them, and he asked me again to come out to the foyer," she said. "The black security guard forced me to remove the pictures from my phone, and they took my cell phone, and during the struggle, I got knocked over, and I hit my head."

Ketchum said she then "took off" and went to a community centre. She called an ambulance and was taken to hospital.

Now, she said she has a bump on the back of her head a sore shoulder.

'This was racially motivated'

She said she took the photo that started it all because the people who were being asked to leave were vulnerable and cold.

"They just wanted to warm up for a few minutes — that's all they wanted," she said. "Like just let them warm up for a few minutes, and they probably would've went outside. It's all they wanted. It's like -30 C outside."

Ketchum said she thinks racism against aboriginal people is to blame for why things escalated.

An indigenous woman says she was knocked to the ground by a security guard at a Winnipeg clinic after snapping a photo of him asking two people to leave. She believes the incident was racially motivated. 0:34 "I'm very angry. I'm going to say this was racially motivated. That's what I feel like," she said. "Maybe they can do some aboriginal training or sensitivity training or something like that."

The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority said in a statement they are reviewing security footage of the incident and are working with police to review the events.

"We have invited the client to reschedule her appointment at the downtown Access Centre at her earliest convenience to ensure her health services are uninterrupted. We will not be sharing further information," the statement said.

Ketchum's phone has since been returned to her by police.