NOTE: This is an intermittent feature highlighting CSUSB faculty who are mentioned in the news. Faculty, if you are interviewed and quoted by news media, or if your work has been cited, and you have an online link to the article or video, please let us know. Contact us at news@csusb.edu.
James Fenelon, professor of sociology and director of the Center for Indigenous Peoples Studies, was interviewed for an article in The Press-Enterprise about the ongoing debate over the use of Native Americans as mascots for sports teams.
The Major League Baseball’s World Series, showcasing the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians, has revived the contentious debate over the use of Native American mascots for pro, college and high school sport teams – including several schools across Southern California.
“They’re back in the World Series,” said Fenelon. “And, sure enough, people are coming out in flat-out racist imagery and actions, dancing around and prancing.” Fenelon, a Lakota-Dakota scholar, said a study he conducted in recent years found a large majority of American Indians took offense at the name “Redskins,” used by the National Football League team in Washington, D.C.
Not mentioned in the article is that a book launch was held Oct. 26 at CSUSB for Fenelon’s latest work, “Redskins? Sports Mascots, Indian Nations and White Racism.”
Also quoted in the article were CSUSB students Mario Castellano and Charli Eaton.
The article was published Oct.27, 2016, and also appeared in other Southern California News Group newspapers such as The Sun and Long Beach Press-Telegram.
Read the complete article at “Is Cleveland Indians' Chief Wahoo mascot an honor or an insult?”