Master of Fine Arts, Miami University, 2022, English

When Nate Luck arrives in California in 1853, he is a wide-eyed, half Russian/half Buriat Mongol kid in love with the idea and ideals of America, looking for freedom and adventure – and he finds plenty of both. Over the next forty years Nate wins devoted friends and fierce enemies, digs for gold in California, punches cattle in Colorado, fights for - and against - the nation, falls in love, lives with and raises a family among the Nez Perce tribe, and sees - and spills - more than his share of blood in the pursuit of freedom and the American Dream. Finally, seeing the law as the only possible path to real freedom, he becomes a lawman – until he's arrested for murder. Fortunately, in Buffalo, Wyoming they take their time holding a trial, so he hopes he can tell his story and make sense of it all before they hang him. Nate's unique perspective and voice as an outsider provides a clear-eyed look at both what America's aspirations and failures. It also invites consideration that, despite all our progress, many of the issues faced by the powerless in 19th century America continue today.

Committee: Brian Roley (Advisor); TaraShea Nesbitt (Committee Member); Margaret Luongo (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; American Studies; Military History; Minority and Ethnic Groups; Native Americans; Philosophy