An often-absent figure in Eric's life, his father is an iron worker who struggles with alcoholism and is featured primarily in a series of poems about their relationship.

Effectively a single parent to seven children, she worked multiple jobs to support the family and encouraged Eric to pursue education off the reservation.

A childhood friend of Eric's, known by her nickname, who shares a love of music and books with him and later inspires him with a college gift that broadens his horizons.

Gansworth's grandmothers, who attended residential schools and distanced themselves from their Indigenous culture, significantly affecting Eric's and his parents' cultural connections.

Gansworth's maternal grandfather, who, despite surviving boarding school, distances himself from Tuscarora culture but hopes his children will engage more with the outside world.

Gansworth's paternal grandfather who maintains some cultural connections due to ill health, but whose life is deeply impacted by his time at a residential school.