Fullerton Fenders? New high school nickname proposed to replace ‘Indians’

For decades, Fullerton Union High School’s “Indians” nickname has prompted protests from activists who claim it is offensive to Native Americans.

One of the oldest campuses in Orange County, Fullerton Union High School has since retired “Willie Ugh,” a student mascot clad in Native American garb, and introduced a buffalo mascot, but it remains the “Home of the Indians” with a mural of a Native American man in a headdress.

Most recently, an online petition demanding a new nickname for the high school circulated in 2020 and gathered more than 7,000 signatures, to no avail.

With Gov. Gavin Newsom approving the California Racial Mascots Act in September, public schools will be banned from using an expanded list of “derogatory” Native American terms including “Indians,” by July 2026.

Fullerton Union High School’s nickname may be on borrowed time.

Taking a proactive approach, former Assemblyman Chris Norby wrote the Fullerton Joint Unified High School District Board of Trustees and Fullerton Union High School administrators with an idea for a new nickname for his old alma mater: the Fenders.

“Some may wonder why this ex-politician guy cares about mascots?” Norby said. “Well, I care because I’m an alumni and because I like individual mascots.”

He’s candid about not favoring the law but sees an opportunity to get ahead of it with a true Fullerton tribute.

A mural at Fullerton Union High School features a Native American in a headdress

(Gabriel San Román)

The proposed Fenders nickname would be an homage to Leo Fender, a former Fullerton High School graduate who famously invented the Stratocaster electric guitar in 1954.

Fender and his invention are the subject of a permanent exhibit at the Fullerton Museum Center down the street from the high school. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and was inducted into the Orange County Hall of Fame last year.

Liking the alliterative sound of the “Fullerton Fenders,” Norby had an artist friend draw up some sample cartoons for a new mascot, which he shared with the school board and campus administrators.

So far, his pitch for a new nickname has been met with curiosity. Norby interviewed with the editorial board of the Tribe Tribune, Fullerton High School’s student newspaper. Students liked the Fenders, but also had an idea for the “Flyers,” since Fullerton is home to Orange County’s only city airport.

“The law is so new that I don’t think the district, or a lot of districts, are sure how to respond to it,” Norby said. “I did get a call directly from the superintendent and we had a very positive discussion.”

He has also spoken with school board members, including board president Vicki Calhoun.

Orange County has tackled thorny mascot, nicknames and building names before.

An activist protests against school mascots in Fullerton in 2002.

(Los Angeles Times File Photo)

The Fullerton Joint Union High School District Board of Trustees voted in 2020 to drop “Louis E. Plummer” from Fullerton’s High School’s auditorium on account of Plummer having been a past member of the Ku Klux Klan in Orange County.

In 2021, Anaheim High School students voted to keep their “Colonists” nickname but supported dropping its pilgrim-styled mascot. Four years before that vote, Anaheim Union High School District trustees voted to rebrand Savanna High School’s “Rebels” mascot away from its Confederate origins, after a student poll showed support for the move.

Norby thinks Fullerton Union High School will have to follow Anaheim’s footsteps, in some way.

“Ultimately, there needs to be a process where nominations are made from the community, alumni and students,” Norby said. “You really need student involvement, but that’s something the administration would have to set up.”