Malloy

Kerri J. Malloy

Professor of Native American and Indigenous Studies, San José State University
Chapter Member: Bay Area SSN
Areas of Expertise:

About Kerri

Malloy's research focuses on Indigenous genocide, transitional justice, federal Indian law, and California Indian history. Overarching themes in Malloy's writings include settler colonial violence, Indigenous memory, healing, reconciliation, and Native sovereignty. Malloy has served on the Advisory Board of the International Association of Genocide Scholars and chaired its Indigenous Peoples Caucus. He also works with tribal communities and educational organizations on issues of tribal governance, Native rights, and public scholarship. His current projects examine subaltern diplomacy of Native nations in Canada, U.S. and Mexico, and Native student experiences in higher education.

In the News

Opinion: "From Doctrine to Proclamation: How Faith Still Frames U.S. Indian Policy," Kerri J. Malloy, Canopy Forum, December 12, 2025.
Opinion: "Gov. Newsom and Pres. Trump Tell the Same Inadequate Tale About Native America," Kerri J. Malloy, Cal Matters, November 24, 2025.
Opinion: "U.S. Citizenship Was Forced on Native Americans 100 Years Ago − Its Promise Remains Elusive," Kerri J. Malloy, The Conversation , July 25, 2024.
Opinion: "UC, CSU Must Comply With Native American Repatriation Laws ," Kerri J. Malloy, The Mercury News, July 7, 2023.
Opinion: "The Legacy of the Right to Control Land and Dependency," Kerri J. Malloy, Canopy Forum, April 1, 2023.
Guest on NBC Bay Area's Race in America, November 17, 2022.
Guest on Native America Calling, October 11, 2022.
Opinion: "Online Gambling From Prop. 27 Wouldn’t Solve a Bigger Issue for California’s Tribes," Kerri J. Malloy, The Los Angeles Times, September 30, 2022.
Opinion: "Online Gambling From Prop. 27 Wouldn’t Solve a Bigger Issue for California’s Tribes," Kerri J. Malloy, Cal Matters, September 27, 2022.

Publications

"Igniting the Move Toward Genocidal Violence in California’s Early Statehood" Journal of History 60, no. 1 (2025): 1-34.

Argues that early California had many of the warning signs that typically lead to genocide, and shows how these conditions developed during its early statehood. Finds that a mix of political decisions, social attitudes, and economic pressures helped create an environment where large-scale violence against Indigenous people became likely and was ultimately carried out.

"Naming to Erase, Renaming to Restore: (Re)Indigenizing the Landscape" in De-Commemoration: Making Sense of Contemporary Calls for Tearing Down Statues and Renaming Places, edited by Sarah Gensburger and Jenny Wüstenberg, (Berghahn Books, 2023).

Explores how place names can erase Indigenous histories and how renaming efforts work to restore them. Shows that naming is a powerful tool in shaping public memory and identity.

"Indigenous Spaces" in The Routledge Handbook of Memory Activism, edited by Yifat Gutman and Jenny Wüstenberg, (Routledge, 2022).

Looks at how Indigenous communities reclaim and define spaces as part of broader memory and justice efforts. Highlights how space itself can be a form of activism.

"Renewing the World: Disrupting Settler-Colonial Destruction" in The Routledge Handbook of Religion, Mass Atrocity, and Genocide, edited by Sara E. Brown and Stephen Smith, (Routledge, 2022).

Discusses how Indigenous perspectives challenge and resist the harms of settler colonialism. Focuses on renewal and rebuilding as responses to ongoing destruction.

"California Genocide: A Historiography of Settler Innocence" Wičazo Ša Review 36, no. 2 (2021): 1-24.

Examines how histories of violence against Indigenous people in California have been written in ways that downplay or erase responsibility. Shows how these narratives help sustain a sense of innocence around settler colonialism.