We Survived the End of the World

June 12, 2023
In this perplexing hybrid of self-help and Native American history, Charleston (Ladder to the Light), a retired Episcopal bishop and citizen of the Choctaw Nation, responds to climate change, Covid-19, and other global crises by invoking the wisdom of Indigenous leaders whose communities struggled against white settlement. Drawing on the experiences of Ganiodaiio, a Seneca warrior and diplomat, who was known to white Americans as Cornplanter, Charleston urges readers to embrace individual accountability while simultaneously working for the common good. Following the ideas of Tenskwatawa, the “Shawnee Prophet,” he calls on readers to build communities based on mutual respect. The example of Nez Perce shaman Smohalla emphasizes the importance of treating the environment as a living being rather than a resource for humans, while that of the Paiute Ghost Dancer Wovoka urges people to overcome fear and hatred of their opponents and strive for reconciliation. Unfortunately, Charleston doesn’t offer specifics about how one might transform these sensible attitudes into strategies for individual and communal activism, and his historical research often comes up short, as when he describes early 19th-century Native Americans as having “a very libertarian existence.” Readers will be disappointed.