Dr. Elizabeth Ellis, assistant professor of history at Princeton University, will deliver the annual Klement Lecture, “Remembering, Forgetting, and Mythologizing the Indigenous Histories of the Gulf Coast,” hosted by the Department of History, on Thursday, Oct. 6, at 4:30 p.m. in the Beaumier Suite of Raynor Memorial Libraries.
Ellis’ lecture will be on the subject of her forthcoming book, “The Great Power of Small Nations: Indigenous Diplomacy in the Gulf South.” This book argues that Indigenous migration and immigration practices helped create powerful and resilient Native nations, and that these Native southerners shaped and limited the extent of European colonization during the 18th century.
The event is open to the public and does not require registration.
Ellis specializes in early American and Native American history, and her research focuses on the 17th- and 18th-century South. Prior to joining Princeton, she was an assistant professor of history and the director of the Native Studies Forum at New York University. In addition to her work on early America, Ellis also writes about contemporary Indigenous issues and political movements and is committed to organizing and fighting for Indigenous self-determination.
Ellis is Peewaalia and is an enrolled citizen of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma.
The Klement Lecture was established in 1992 to honor the late Dr. Frank L. Klement, professor emeritus of history, and brings to campus distinguished scholars in American history. The lecture series was originally devoted to the history of the U.S. Civil War, but it now includes all fields of American history. Klement joined the history department at Marquette in 1948 and served the university for 27 years before his retirement at the rank of professor emeritus.