A First Nations woman says she will go without eating until Manitoba Child and Family Services (CFS) returns her toddler grandson.

The grandma said CFS took the boy away from her teen daughter because she stayed out past curfew at the shelter where she was living.

The grandma said she has organized meetings and written letters to CFS officials requesting to take care of her grandson, but to no avail.

As a result, she started fasting Sunday at midnight in what she calls a defiant spiritual response to the province.

Last week was the first time she was able to see her grandson since he was apprehended by CFS.

"The social worker was taking him back to the foster home and he screamed and cried like he was being tortured and putting out his arms. And I felt so helpless, I said, 'this is crazy, like what am I doing? Like, I should just take him.'"

She left that meeting feeling that something in her grandson has changed.

"He was such a happy, laughing little guy," said the grandma. "He's not like that anymore. He's lethargic, he's not eating and throughout the visit he would cry. He's not the same anymore."

The grandma hopes to draw attention to the case and shed some light on systemic issues within CFS in hopes that her grandson will be returned and left in her care.