Naming the Fatigue, Rekindling the Fire: Gitxsan Matriarchs’ Fight Against Colonial Disorder
Jenny Morgan, EdD
Volume 26, Number 1 (2026) 26 (1): 1-15
Keywords settler colonialism, indigenous epistemologies, Post-Settler Disorder (PSD), Colonial Contact Fatigue (CCF), indigenous women
Abstract
This article introduces two conceptual frameworks—Post-Settler Disorder (PSD) and Colonial Contact Fatigue (CCF)—to describe the ongoing impacts of settler colonialism on Indigenous peoples in Canada. Written from the perspective of a Gitxsan woman, the paper draws on Indigenous epistemologies, storytelling, and feminist scholarship grounded in lived experience. PSD functions as a satirical analytical lens exposing settler denial, historical amnesia, and narratives of innocence that sustain colonial systems. CCF names the cumulative spiritual, emotional, and physical exhaustion experienced through continuous contact with colonial institutions. The article highlights the role of Indigenous women, humor, and matrilineal knowledge as sources of resilience, resistance, and pathways toward healing.
Jenny Morgan, EdD
Published June 5, 2026
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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