Apple: Skin to the Core

The text does not name Gansworth’s parents, but they are nevertheless important figures. His father was largely absent from his life. He appears almost exclusively in the seven “From Iron Man to Skywalker” poems. An iron worker, he worked outside the reservation, which explains some of his absence from Gansworth’s life. Another reason for his being an absent parent was alcoholism. When he did see Gansworth, he usually ignored him or berated him for his interest in art and comic books. When Gansworth was 17, his father spent time at their house only when Gansworth’s mother was out playing BINGO. By this time, Gansworth was so estranged from his father that he did not know what to say to him or how to interpret his presence. When his father died, Gansworth’s mother reflects that they “Had Some Good Times Anyway” (315), but Gansworth was not sure if she is talking about the times his parents had together or the times his mother had without his father.

Gansworth’s mother, though still legally married to his father, was essentially a single parent to seven children. She worked a lot to scrape together enough money for the family, missing much of Gansworth’s early life. She worked many jobs, including as a cleaner for white families. She was forced to perform gratitude for her employers so they would keep hiring her. She encouraged Gansworth to get off the reservation, giving him a flyer from a nearby community college. Later, she revealed that she did not think that Gansworth would leave the reservation forever, and she frequently made reference to him finally coming home. Later, when the house burned down in an accidental fire, she refused to continue living on the land. Instead, she moved into a trailer belonging to one of her sons. She died following a stroke.

One of Gansworth’s childhood friends, Jaboozie is only ever known by this nickname, both to protect her privacy and because nicknames are very common on the reservation. Although Jaboozie was two years older than Gansworth, they remained close friends, and Gansworth missed her when she left for college. She taught him to make beadwork and cornhusk dolls when they were children. In addition, she introduced him to The Beatles’ The White Album. Both Gansworth and Jaboozie shared a love of music and books and were similar in their inquisitive natures. When Jaboozie moved away for college, she and Gansworth drifted apart for a while, but on one of her visits, Jaboozie gave him a copy of a book about cult movies that students studied at her school. The book showed Gansworth a future he did not know was possible, one that valued the things he cared about (cult movies, comics, and music) as academically worthwhile. Jaboozie eventually married one of Gansworth’s cousins and later helped him mourn the loss of his aunt when she died.

Gansworth mentions his grandparents frequently in the text: Big Umma (his mother’s mother), Little Umma (his father’s mother), Umps (his mother’s father), and Willard (his father’s father), especially regarding The Impact of Colonialism as a theme. The text is somewhat unclear about whether all his grandparents were sent to residential schools. Gansworth’s grandmothers both attended, as did Willard. In the Liner Notes at the end of the book, Gansworth states, “Three of my four grandparents went to Boarding Schools, and their legacy stays with me always” (379). However, in “I Leave Formal Training Before This Opportunity Begins,” he says that “Umps has survived / a Boarding School too, like my other grandparents. / He chooses not to speak of it” (134).

The impact of colonialism is most obvious in Gansworth’s grandparents’ generation, though its effects continue to be felt in later generations. Willard managed to maintain a connection to his heritage because he spent so much time convalescing at home. Nevertheless, the school had a big impact on his life. Umps, Big Umma, and Little Umma were all Christian, having converted during their time at residential school. They no longer believed in things like the Skyworld. Umps was unwilling to engage with Tuscarora culture but chose to expose his children to the outside world so that they would be “a little more prepared than he was” (134).

Both of Gansworth’s grandmothers became completely removed from their culture after their time in residential schools. Although they spoke Tuscarora and Onondaga with their friends, they refused to speak their languages with their children. Big Umma reprimanded the reservation school for teaching her children about traditional skills like beadwork, which she called “backwards skills.” As a result, Gansworth’s parents lost their connection to their culture and heritage and were unable to pass any traditional knowledge on to Gansworth and his siblings. Although Little Umma was reluctant to pass on her culture to her children, she agreed to speak Tuscarora for the ethnographer. These recordings eventually were used in Tuscarora language revitalization efforts, providing a roadmap for younger generations of Tuscarora people to reclaim part of their lost history.