Growing up in small town North Dakota, Maida Berg was only vaguely aware of the impacts of the oil boom reverberating across the state. She could see heavy machinery occasionally trundling down the highway near her home. As a child, she had no idea that just 30 minutes down the same road on the Turtle Mountain Reservation and in Indigenous communities across the state, the oil boom brought with it a rise in the number of missing and murdered Indigenous women, an epidemic commonly referred to as MMIW or MMIR.

It wasn’t until she moved to Minnesota and became the adult services librarian at the Willmar Public Library that the scope of the MMIW and MMIR epidemic came into sharp focus – through books.

Berg now curates monthly displays at the library, drawing inspiration from awareness days and themed months. Last year she came across May 5, the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls and created a themed display that left a lasting impression on both her and the community.

“It was startling to see how many of the victims were from the Midwest, especially Minnesota,” Berg said. 

From 2010 through 2018, 8 percent of all murdered women and girls in Minnesota were American Indian. Although they make up just 1 percent of the state's population, Indigenous women and girls made up 10 percent of the missing women in the state last year. 

“Awareness and prevention go hand in hand in educating our communities about MMIR.  By sharing knowledge and resources we can really foster critical thinking through the books we read and conversations we hold,” said Tawny Smith Savage, violence prevention coordinator with our Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office. “National MMIW Awareness month offers a powerful opportunity to deepen understanding, spark dialogue, and inspire collective insight and allyship.”

With a mix of educational posters and non-fiction and fiction books sourced with help from Birchbark Books, an Indigenous-owned bookstore in Minneapolis, Berg’s display invites patrons to engage with a difficult but necessary topic. She admits she felt nervous at first about introducing such emotional content to patrons, but Berg was encouraged to see that people did stop, read and reflect.

“Not everyone has the same lived experience, but reading can help you step into someone else’s shoes,” she said. “Fiction especially can be a little easier to bridge that gap. It can help you understand a perspective you weren’t aware of.”

This year’s display includes fiction titles from authors like Minneapolis-based author, poet and playwright, Marcie Rendon and non-fiction from the likes of Canadian journalist Jessica McDiarmid.

For those who are looking to understand and learn more about issues like MMIR, Berg encourages a visit to the library. “If people want to learn, the library is a great place to start. We’re still one of the last truly free public spaces – and we’re here to help.”

You can attend the discussion virtually or in-person at the Willmar Public Library on Saturday, May 24th at 10 a.m. Pre-register here to attend via Zoom.

Download the book list curated by Maida Berg and Birchbark Books. 

Full list of titles