For immediate release:
Original Politics by Glenn Aparicio Parry, Recipient of Prestigious “Nautilus Book Award”
New York, NY—New York publisher SelectBooks, Inc., has announced that its title Original Politics has been honored with a Silver Medal from the 2020 Nautilus Book Awards in the field of “World Cultures’ Conscious Growth and Development.” In Original Politics: Making America Sacred Again, educator, ecopsychologist, podcaster, and political philosopher Glenn Aparicio Parry makes a case that the founding vision of the United States was inspired by Native American cultures. Further, Parry traces the influence of Native America on nation-shaping historic forces including the 19th-century women’s and abolitionist movements and modern ecological movements.
The story of the Nautilus Book Awards began three decades ago when a group of publishing professionals recognized that significant new cultural movements were developing, but lacked proper representation in the trade. The new directions these industry pioneers sought to help publicize included the emerging environmental and sustainability movement, the next wave of feminism and healing between genders, diverse approaches to spirituality, and explorations of social justice focusing on multiculturalism and inclusion. These efforts eventually led to the publication of the magazine NAPRA (New Alternatives in Publishing and Retailing) and in 1998, the launch of the Nautilus Book Awards recognizing authors and publishers of books seeking to help the world-shift that is necessary to bring forth healing for life on Earth.
Original Politics is a unique and inspired examination of American politics which looks deep into bedrock of our history to help us find our way out of the dysfunctional political climate that continues to afflict this nation. Many of the founding fathers of the United States understood the importance of a connection to the native peoples on the continent and to the land itself, as did several of the country’s most prominent thinkers after them. Native American philosophy and spirituality lies deep in the DNA of the American “experiment”, but we have lost touch with this aspect as a Euro-centric mindset has become overwhelmingly dominant. Original Politics traces the history of this decline and demonstrates how the reconnection could be the answer to the quagmire of infighting and partisan bickering that characterizes the present political climate. Regarding the book, the late Harlan McKosato, longtime host of the nationally syndicated radio program Native America Calling, stated “Some people are aware of the impact Native cultures had on the development of the US. The vast majority are not. Original Politics finds a unique way of telling the true story.”
This year’s honor is in fact Glenn Aparicio Parry’s second Nautilus Award as he is also author of Original Thinking: A Radical Revisioning of Time, Humanity, and Nature (North Atlantic Books) for which he earned an award in 2015. Parry has led a long and varied career as an activist and an educator. He was the founder and a former president of the SEED Institute (Source for Educational Empowerment and Community Development) which was founded in 1996 to bring together Indigenous and Western ways of knowing. Parry is currently the director of a grassroots think tank, the Circle for Original Thinking and host of the Circle for Original Thinking podcast, a weekly program that brings together creative thinkers from a variety of different traditions, asking the hard questions on the important issues of the day. Past guests have included LaDonna Harris, Oren Lyons, James O’Dea and current US Secretary of the Interior, then Congresswoman, Deb Haaland. The podcast is distributed by the WebTalkRadio network and is available through Apple, Spotify and most other podcast media channels.
On receiving word of the award, SelectBooks publisher Kenzi Sugihara issued a statement saying, “This award is both a great honor and an affirmation that our efforts have been steered in the right direction. Just like Glenn, we at SelectBooks feel a strong kinship with the Nautilus mission, so receiving this award is a very special distinction for us.”
Original Politics is available in print, ebook, and audio formats wherever books are sold.