You're listening to an airwave media podcast.

Ben Franklin's world is a production of the

Omaha Institute and is sponsored by the colonial

Williamsburg Foundation. and welcome to episode 342 of Ben Franklin's world.

The podcast dedicated to helping you,

learn more about how the people and events

of our early American past have shaped

the present day world we live in. And I'm your host, Liz Kovard.

Did you know that small Native American nations of only a few hundred people

had the power to dictate the terms of French colonization in the Gulf South region?

Elizabeth Ellis, an assistant professor of history at Princeton University and a citizen of

the Peoria tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, joins us on an exploration of the

of the uncoversed and recovered histories of the more than 40 distinct

small native nations who called the Gulf South region home

during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Using details from her book, The Great Power of Small Nations,

Indigenous Diplomacy in the Gulf South, Liz reveals

information about the Gulf South during the 17th and 18th centuries.

The cultures and diplomacies of the Gulf South's petite nations of Indians

in details about how the Petit nations interacted with French colonizers and shaped the terms of their colonization.

But first, the holiday season is upon us.

As you gather with your friends and families over the holidays, please support Ben Franklin's

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