NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The many cultures that made New Orleans one of the nation's most diverse cities are the focus of an exhibit opening Feb. 27 at The Historic New Orleans Collection to mark the city's tricentennial.

Native Americans had used the area for a long time before the French founded "La Nouvelle-Orleans" in 1718.

Historian and curator Erin Greenwald says a majority of the city's earliest non-indigenous inhabitants didn't want to be there. She says they included French and Canadian soldiers, French convicts, and enslaved Africans.

"New Orleans, the Founding Era" shows items from the museum's collection and rare materials from institutions across Europe and North America.

The institution is publishing a catalog in French and English with essays about the various peoples. The exhibit runs Feb. 27 through May 27.