Enid library series on Marshall Islands to begin next month

Public Library of Enid and Garfield County is hosting a history series about the Marshall Islands starting next month.

Led by local leader Terry Mote, the monthly classes begin at 4 p.m. Sept. 8.

The class will explore the history of the Marshall Islands, the establishment of the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the relationship between the islands and the United States.

All classes will be held in the Great Plains Room of the library on the second Wednesday of each month. The series continues until Feb. 9, 2022. All ages are welcome to attend.

Mote, who is Marshallese, said the class would include focusing on the nuclear test era in the Marshall Islands and the Compact of Free Association with the U.S.

“I thought for our Enid community to understand more of who we are, this presentation can be something I thought could be an opportunity to learn,” he said.

Enid’s population from Micronesia, which includes the Marshall Islands, is estimated to be one of the largest in Oklahoma and the country.

In Garfield County, between 2,200 to 2,400 native Hawaiians or Pacific Islanders live in the 73701 ZIP code, according to 2019 estimates from the U.S. Census — though the Government Accountability Office has long considered these figures underreported.