Apple: Skin to the Core

 

Apple (Skin to the Core) by Eric Gansworth

Reviewed by Tyler Huor, Justin Lee, Dayna Miller, & Brian Monreal

 

Review:

Apple: Skin to the Core is a memoir composed of verse and prose poetry detailing the life of Onondaga author and college professor Eric Gansworth from early childhood to middle age. This memoir sheds light on the injustices faced by Indigenous Americans in the Northeast, beginning with the schools they were forced to attend, Eric’s grandparents included. With the school’s mantra: “Kill the Indian! Save the man,” Eric’s surviving grandparents returned scarred from the boarding houses and refused to pass down their traditions (9). While not entirely separated from his culture, Eric grows up feeling estranged from his own while adopting a more anglo-fied lifestyle that was influenced by his relatives, specifically his maternal grandmother. From beginning to end, Eric captures the complex duality of culture he endured the first half of his life through poetry, a duality leading to a new understanding of a familiar word: apple. A derogatory term used to label assimilating indigenous people into American culture but adopted by Gansworth as the symbol of this memoir.

Gansworth split his novel into four sections that each contain important moments from his life, though beginning with the catalyst of his family’s trauma. Trauma is a key theme in this story as readers come across it in each section. As mentioned before, Gansworth’s grandparents were victims of the boarding schools designed to eliminate the culture of indigenous individuals, resulting in the death of one and the refusal to pass down their customs out of fear and developed resentment toward their culture. As a result, he grows up learning little about his culture, making it a stranger to him, while literally being a stranger to those on the rez (reservation) where he grows up, as well as the world outside of it. The generational trauma inherited by his family leads to the struggle of Gansworth attempting to find a place where he belongs. Identity is another key that will leave readers sympathizing or empathizing with Gansworth. A large portion of the memoir takes place during his childhood and adolescence and explores the alienation Gainsworth experienced from nearly everyone around him. As an adult, Gansworth openly accepts and embraces his dual identity, by fulfilling his role as an elder and speaker of his language, while he works as a college professor. 

That’s not to say that there are not any flaws with this book. At times the poems felt like they dragged on a little too long, almost to the point where the idea is nearly lost or forgotten by the time you finish reading them. Another issue may lie in the overall form; this memoir is structured entirely in verse but contains a prose word flow. Some portions of this book are in verse, but it can be complicated to differentiate the word flow between sections meant to be read in verse versus those in prose. This criticism is not undermining the power of this memoir’s words, but it is understandable if some younger readers don’t form an attachment to Gansworth’s approach compared to others. 

Apple: Skin to the Core may appear as just a story about struggle and perseverance on the surface, and while it contains those themes, it is also a story about trauma, discrimination, identity, self-acceptance, and community. It may be difficult at times to fully grasp, and younger readers might have some difficulties with it, but when broken down and understood, the language is extremely effective at capturing the world where Gansworth grew up, the struggle in maintaining an identity without criticism, and the repercussions of cultural genocide and  generational trauma. 

Biography:

Eric Gansworth (Sˑha-weñ na-saeˀ) is a Haudenosaunee novelist, poet, and visual artist who is an enrolled member of the Onondaga Nation, although he more identifies with the Tuscarora tribe, having been born and raised on the Tuscarora Indian reservation, located outside Niagara Falls in western New York.  Growing up on the reservation, Gansworth spent the first six years of his formal education at the Tuscarora Indian School, where he learned the Tuscarora language.  Gansworth’s subsequent years in junior and high school and beyond had him awkwardly trying to integrate with the rest of the population, where his knowledge of the Tuscarora language went by the wayside and he became seriously interested in painting and drawing.

After a foray into electroencephalography (the clinical study of brain waves) in an effort to find a serious career that would put food on the table, Gansworth decided to give his true passion for writing and drawing another chance.  He received his B.A. and M.A. in English from the State University College at Buffalo, and has since released four novels, three young adult novels, and four books of poetry.  As a visual artist, he has had solo exhibitions at the Castellani Museum, Colgate University, Westfield State University, SUNY Oneonta, and Bright Hill Center.  He also incorporates many of his own images into his novels.

 

Gansworth’s 2020 memoir Apple (Skin to the Core) is in verse and contains many of his own images.  It was longlisted for the 2020 National Book Award and is a true testament to his college years epiphany of rediscovering the precious life he had with family and friends on the reservation, and how it began to show up in his works.  When talking about this, Gansworth has said, “Eventually, I came back around to writing and painting about what I know--reservation life.”

Today, Eric Gansworth is an Associate Professor of English at Canisius College in Buffalo, and still lives near the reservation where he still involved with many of his extended family members.  He continues to strive to keep the Tuscarora traditions and language alive, not only through his books and images, but also through his own life as a genuine Tuscarora man.

 

Extra Indians: Spirits by Eric Gansworth

 

Instructional Resources:

1. Author Eric Gansworth Explores Complexities of Native Identity in New Memoir | NowThis 

This video from NowThis News shows Eric Gansworth talking about the often-overlooked “complexities” of the Native Identity.  This highlights the point Gansworth is always trying to get across: the Native experience is so much more than what you read in children’s books growing up or what you have seen in Hollywood movies.

2. Eric Gansworth on his new memoir APPLE (SKIN TO THE CORE)
This video shows Eric Gansworth discussing the meaning of the racial slur “Apple,” which appears often in Apple (Skin to the Core).  This ties back to the boarding schools across America that strove to eradicate the Native traditions, which is where “Apples” subsequently originated.

3. How I Spent Years Writing a Memoir and Ended Up With a Novel-in-Verse
In this article, novelist Jane Kuo talks about how her struggle to write a memoir led to the creation of her novel-in-verse.  This is good insight into why some writers may turn to this method, as it is also seen in Gansworth’s memoir.

4. Author Interview: Eric Gansworth on Apple (Skin to the Core) & Writing Insights
This is an interview with Eric Gansworth after Apple (Skin to the Core) was released.  It reveals writing insights into why he does the work that he does.

5. The Carlisle Indian Industrial School: Assimilation with Education after the Indian Wars (Teaching with Historic Places)

This link provides in depth information on the Carlisle Indian Industrial School and lessons that can be taught about it.  This useful lesson also provides information on where it fits into specific school curriculum.

 

6. The Human Meaning of Removal

This link showcases several firsthand experiences with those involved with the Trail of Tears (1831-1850), a horrific event where Native Americans were removed from their lands.  It highlights one of the various ways the government has forcibly moved Native Americans from their homes and taken their lands.

7. 1823: Supreme Court rules American Indians do not own land

The Supreme Court ruled “reasons that since the federal government now controls the land, the Indians have only a “right of occupancy” and hold no title to the land” which gives the government legal ownership over the land that the Natives did not.  The government also used ‘Discovery Doctrine’ as an additional reason as to why they own the land.

8. Carlisle Indian School Project
This focuses on the impacts and experiences at the Carlisle Indian School.  Most importantly, by informing the public, it makes sure of ‘Giving Voice to the Legacy’ to those with their rights and lives infringed upon by the government and its attempts of destroying culture and assimilation of others.

9. I is for Ignoble: Stereotyping Native Americans
This discusses the misrepresentation of Native Americans in the media, which gave generations of Natives and non-natives a negative image of Natives.  Although newer generations have slowly seen through the misrepresentation, it’s important to note that there was misrepresentation and slander to Natives as a whole.

10. The White Man's View
This highlights the ignorance of another culture and the impacts it can and will have on individuals.  This also discusses other possible factors that caused people to blame Native Americans on their own downfalls and misfortunes. 

 

Instructional Activity:

Preview:

In this Instructional activity, students will work in groups to analyze the primary source below as it compares to Eric Gansworth’s book.  After reading the memoir and the primary source, have students pick one of Gansworth’s poems that they could compare or contrast with the Rules for Indian Schools.  Then they will answer the questions that follow.  This will provide a wide range for group discussion.

Instructions:

Have students get into small groups to read the Rules for Indian Schools (1890) and answer the following questions. To do this they must think critically and work as a team to compare and contrast the novel (either in full or excerpts) to the primary source below. Have the students respond orally or with a written response with textual evidence. For an extended activity, have them take turns sharing their answers, or engage in a class discussion.

California Common Core Standards:

Reading Standards for Informational Text 11–12

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.1:

Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.3:

Evaluate various explanations for actions or events and determine which explanation best accords with textual evidence, acknowledging where the text leaves matters uncertain.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.9:

Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.

Resources and Preparation:

First, the class will need to read Gansworth's entire memoir or selected poems. 

Instructional Plan:

Rules for Indian Schools- Primary Source:

    39. All instruction must be in the English language. Pupils must be compelled to converse with each other in English and should be properly rebuked or punished for persistent violations of this rule. Every effort should be made to encourage them to abandon their tribal language. To facilitate this work it is essential that all school employees be able to speak English fluently, and that they speak English exclusively to the pupils, and also to each other in the presence of the pupils.

    43. Except in cases of emergency, pupils shall not be removed from school either by their parents or others nor shall they be transferred from Government to a private school without special authority from the Indian Office.

    51. […] Separate playgrounds as well as sitting rooms, must be assigned the boys and girls. In play and in work, as far as possible and in all places except the school room and at meals, they must be kept entirely apart. [...] to show each other due respect and consideration, to behave without restraint, but without familiarity, and to acquire habits of politeness, refinement, and self-possession…

    61. The girls must be systematically trained in every branch of housekeeping [...] They must be regularly detailed to assist the cook in preparing the food and the laundress in washing and ironing.


    Discussion Questions:

1. What do these rules restrict, and what do they promote?
2. What words or phrases does the primary source use? What is this language meant to do?
3. What type of life would a native child expect to have? What do these rules express about the popular opinion of Native Americans?  
4. What similarities do you notice between these rules and Eric’s grandparent’s experiences? 
5. How do the themes differ in each text?
6. What does each text say is the problem? What are their solutions?

 

     Additional Reading:

• The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline (2017)
• An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People (ReVisioning History for Young People) by Jean Mendoza, Debbie Resse, And Roxanne Dunbar-Oritz
  (2019)
• There There by Tommy Orange (2018)

Bibliography

“1823: Supreme Court rules American Indians do not own land.” National Library of Medicine, www.nlm.nih.gov/nativevoices/timeline/271.html.

"Author Eric Gansworth Explores Complexities of Native Identity in New Memoir | NowThis." YouTube, uploaded by NowThis News, 26 November 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOAfCSawk8E.

 

“Carlisle Indian School Project.” Carlisle Indian School Project, 25 July 2023, www.carlisleindianschoolproject.com/.

 

"Eric Gansworth on his new memoir APPLE (SKIN TO THE CORE)." YouTube, uploaded by Levine Querido, 12 June 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbTKdJlMo4c.

 

Hirschfelder, Arlene, and Paulette F. Molin. “I is for Ignoble: Stereotyping Native Americans.” Jim Crow Museum, 22 February 2018, www.jimcrowmuseum.ferris.edu/native/homepage.htm.

 

Kuo, Jane. “How I Spent Years Writing a Memoir and Ended Up With a Novel-in-Verse.” Writer’s Digest, 18 May 2023, www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/how-i-spent-years-writing-a-memoir-and-ended-up-with-a-novel-in-verse.

 

Rogers, Kim. “Author Interview: Eric Gansworth on Apple (Skin to the Core) & Writing Insights.” Cynsations, www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/2021/03/author-interview-eric-gansworth-on-apple-skin-to-the-core-writing-insights.

 

“The Carlisle Indian Industrial School: Assimilation with Education after the Indian Wars (Teaching with Historic Places).” National Park Service, www.nps.gov/articles/the-carlisle-indian-industrial-school-assimilation-with-education-after-the-indian-wars-teaching-with-historic-places.htm.

 

“The Human Meaning of Removal.” Digital History, 2021, www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/active_learning/explorations/indian_removal/human_meaning.cfm.

 

“The White Man's View.” Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/goldrush-white-mans-view/.

Images

Gansworth, Eric. “Extra Indians: Spirits.” https://www.ericgansworth.com/extra-indians-c1blq. Accessed 7 December 2023.