Dear Abdul Hakim and all,
I hope you are experiencing a fine day.
Beautiful to hear of Sand Talk. Along the same line of thinking as applied spirtuality are the last two volumes of Honoring the Circle: Ongoing Learning from American Indians on Politics and Society. These two volumes show with proven practical examples how contemporary societies would function much better if they did so following Indigenous values in politics, economics, relating with the environment and education. A two page flyer is included below.
May all move in beauty.
Muqit
Stephen M. Sachs, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Indiana University - Indianapolis.
GETTING THE INDIGENOUS STORY RIGHT
THE 4 VOLUMES OF HONORING THE CIRCLE:
ONGOING LEARNING FROM AMERICAN INDIANS
ON POLITICS AND SOCIETY
VOLUMES I & II: The tremendous impact of American Indian ways on Western and hence world political, social and economic thought, practice and institutions from 1492 to the present.
VOLUMES III & IV: What More Needs to be learned from Native Peoples on living well together and with the Earth. How contemporary societies would function far better if they did so following Indigenous values in politics, economics, relating with the environment and education.
How many people know that: at the time of the American Revolution it was widely accepted that an American was a mix of the European and the Indian? - or that the idea that rights are inalienable was learned from Indians, and that we have as much democracy as we do in the U.S. because of Europeans observing far more democratic and equalitarian Native examples? (Volumes I & 2)
What would a well working contemporary, inclusive, equalitarian, participatory, caring society be like, relating well with the environment and with effective education of each citizen as a unique whole person as a responsible member of society and the world? (Volumes III and IV)
"Honoring the Circle is a very important and monumental work. Its talented team of authors have been on the forefront of revisionist American history that recaptures the true spirit of America’s founding. The authors document not only the profound influence Native America had on the founding of the United States, but make a strong case for its continuing influence (and relevance). A significant portion of the books shows how Indigenous approaches can contribute to solving the major political, economic, environmental and educational problems of today. Honoring the Circle is destined to make a highly influential contribution to American history, and should be taught widely in colleges and universities."
- Glenn Aparicio Parry, Nautilus Award winning author of Original Thinking: A Radical Revisiting of Time, Humanity and Nature and Original Politics: Making America Sacred Again.
“The Knowledgeable - and importantly, readable - scholars behind Honoring the Circle have provided a valuable, systematic look at the-too-little-acknowledged impact of indigenous North American philosophies on European thought. What has so long been attributed to the solely Euro-formed “Enlightenment” is significantly attached to Europeans’ having encountered the governmental, social and economic structures happily governing the great woodland confederacies, with their participatory governments, mutual social recognition and inclusion; and gift economies cementing massive alliances whose purpose was peace. The influence of Indigenous practicality is felt to this day, particularly in movements of women’s solidarity, LGBTQ rights, drives to preserve the environment, and modern “socialist” principles. The terminology may be Western, but the concepts are Indigenous, as Honoring the Circle demonstrates throughout the four volumes.”
- Barbara Alice Mann, author of Spirits of Blood, Spirits of Breath: The Twinned Cosmos of Indigenous America and Iroquoian Women: The Gantowisas
Honoring the Circle (Waterside Productions, 2020) is available from Amazon, amazon.com. Each of the four volumes is $18.95 paper, $9.95 Kindle.
Honoring the Circle: Ongoing Learning from American Indians on Politics and Society
Volume I: The Impact of American Indians on Western Politics and Society to 1800
Stephen M. Sachs, Bruce E. Johansen, Ain Haas, Betty Booth Donohue, Donald A. Grinde Jr., Jonathon York
Volume I begins with a prelude, which includes an introduction to Honoring the Circle and chapter 1, “Traditional American Indian Politics and Society,” a look at how inclusive participatory American Indian societies functioned well. Part I “The Impact of American Indian Tradition on Western Politics and Society,” spans over two volumes. It begins in this volume with an introduction and chapters 2 and 3. Chapter 2, “The Impact of American Indians on Politics and Society in the American Colonies and the United States from Contact to 1800,” covers the mixture of Indian and European influences on early American settlers, and the Indian influences on major leaders and on the development of American political institutions. Chapter 3, “The Considerable Effect of Contact on Europe,” examines the impact of reports of Indians in Europe on all political philosophies.
Volume 1: Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1949001830, Ebook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P2JM5XR
Volume II: The Continuing Impact of American Indian Ways in North America and the World in the Nineteenth Century and Beyond
Stephen M. Sachs, Sally Roesch Wagner, Ain Haas, Walter S. Robinson
Volume II continues part I. Chapter 4, “The Continuing Impact of American Indian Ways in North America and the World in the Nineteenth Century and Beyond,” covers Native impacts on the development of the American philosophy of pragmatism, the women’s movement, the 1960s youth movement, and the environmental movement. The volume closes with a conclusion to part I.
Volume II: Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1949001857, Ebook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P2F5235
Volume III: What Would Be Good to Continue Learning
from Indigenous Peoples in Politics and Economics
Stephen M. Sachs, Donna K. Dial, Christina A. Clamp, Amy Fatzinger, Phyllis M. Gagnier
Volume III begins part II, “The Continuing Relevance of American Indian Ways and Values,” which discusses learning from Indians on living well together and with the Earth. It includes an introduction on changes in Western society toward Indigenous ways of seeing and other factors that make Indigenous thinking increasingly relevant for solving major contemporary problems. Chapter 5, “Applying American Indian Principles of Harmony and Balance to Renew the Politics of the Twenty-First Century,” and chapter 6, “Returning to Reciprocity: Reconceptualizing Economics and Development,” with practical proven examples cover politics and economics, including how Indigenous values of inclusive participation and mutual support can provide for well-working societies today, empowering an informed active citizenry with essentially equal political and economic power to participate on an equal basis, with participatory public and private organizations.
Volume III: Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1949001873, Ebook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P2F5NPQ
Volume IV: What Would Be Good to Continue Learning from
Indigenous Peoples about the Environment and Education
Stephen M. Sachs, Bruce Johansen[
Volume IV continues part II. Chapter 7, “Indigenizing the Greening of the World: Applying an Indigenous Approach to Environmental Issues,” discusses how holistic Indigenous thinking is necessary for dealing with environmental issues. Chapter 8, “Facilitating the Unfolding of the Circle: Indigenizing Education for the Twenty-First Century,” suggests from practical examples how education at every level can be improved with the Indigenous approach of empowering unique people to learn experientially, as whole people, living in community. The conclusion to Honoring the Circle discusses how continuing to integrate Indigenous ideas into our thinking provides a path for living well together and with the planet. It shows how this approach is increasingly at the forefront of political and social discussion.
Volume IV: Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/194900189X, Ebook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P2DZS9V
