JANUARY 2022

Chaldean Cultural Center Receives $150,000 State Grant
BY CAL ABBO
The Chaldean Cultural Center
(CCC), located inside
Shenandoah Country Club,
received a state enhancement grant
worth $150,000. The grant will help
the center further its mission of celebrating
the extraordinary history,
arts, traditions, and contributions of
Chaldean people from ancient times
to present. The CCC, which is in its
18th year of operation, features several
rooms decorated with chronological
historical periods.
On November 4, the 6th grade
class from Our Lady of Sorrows toured
the museum, the first large group to do
so since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Weam Namou, the CCC’s executive
director, said this is exactly the
kind of education the grant will be
used for. “We’re doing more outreach
so we can bring schools to experience
this,” Namou said.
The museum tour was one small
part of a larger field trip for the students.
They completed four other
activities which included learning
a traditional Chaldean dance, spelling
their names in Sureth, learning
about ancient Chaldean foods, and
watching a documentary on Chaldeans
in Detroit.
The first room in the museum depicts
ancient Chaldean history and
traces our roots back to Sumerian
culture, one of the earliest civilizations
in history. Sumerians are credited
with inventing many ancient
technologies including the wheel,
writing, arithmetic, geometry, irrigation,
and beer. The exhibit contains
a full replica of the Code of Hammurabi
from the Louvre in Paris.
The museum then moves on to
the Biblical age, with sections about
the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires.
Around 600 BC, a Chaldean
dynasty ruled the Babylonian Empire,
including Nebuchadnezzar, a
figure made famous from the Bible
and known for conquering Jerusalem
twice.
The next room shows the historical
relationship between Chaldeans
and Christianity. Chaldeans were
some of the earliest Christians, converted
by the Apostle Thomas in the
first century. The modern Chaldean
language, Sureth, is a descendant of
Aramaic, the language of Jesus. According
to Chaldean tradition, the
Clockwise from top left: Andy Keina teaches traditional Chaldean dances; Student listens to an auditory exhibit; Cultural Center staff/
volunteers (left to right): Ban Kizy, Hether Jonna Frayer, Milad Konja, Weam Namou, Mahir Awarhem, Judy Jonna, Avita Bacall, Angie
Naimi, and Andy Keina; Hether Jonna Frayer teaches students about cultural foods.
Magi passed through Chaldean villages
after Jesus’ birth.
The historical journey continues,
showing village life and the reality of
being a Christian minority in a Muslim
country. Barter economies in villages
formed tight-knit communities
and strong family bonds.
“In the 20th century, increasing
numbers of Chaldeans left their villages.
Yet, the villages didn’t leave
them,” one caption says. “The traditions
and sense of community nurtured
by village life endured, preserving
a distinct sense of identity.” In
agricultural communities like Chaldean
villages, work and normal life
overlapped seamlessly, which offers
a clue to how Chaldeans ran their
businesses since coming to Detroit.
Finally, about one-third of the
space is dedicated to modern Chaldean
history in Detroit. It shows passports
and immigration documents
from some of our original community
members. The CCC shows how, over
the years, a community of smallvillage
immigrants came to own and
operate so many of Detroit’s grocery
and party stores.
Ban Kizy, one of the CCC’s board
members who volunteered on the field
trip, said the museum is invaluable to
remembering Chaldean history and
preserving our culture. Inside, her and
her mother’s passport photos adorn
the digital wall of historical records.
Judy Jonna, the CCC’s Chairwoman,
said the grant would have
been impossible to get if not for the
help of Klint Kesto and Michigan
Senator Jim Runestad.
In a letter, Runestad called the
CCC a “treasure not only within the
West Bloomfield community but also
for the many students and residents
across our state and beyond who are
blessed to learn from the stories it
shares.”
The CCC plans to use the funds
to expand several of its programs
and to restart regular visitations
from large groups, like the OLS field
trip. The CCC also has plans for a
mobile museum, which involves presenting
the content of the museum
directly in schools. Namou said they
are working on a fully digital presentation
that teachers could show to
their students all around the country.
After the COVID-19 pandemic
closed the museum to visitors, Namou
and her team brainstormed ways
to continue their work. They came
up with the virtual discussion series,
which has featured a new interview
almost every week since June 2020.
Namou interviews journalists, actors,
academics, and other outstanding
people who are knowledgeable about
Chaldean history or the Chaldean
community.
Finally, Namou said they are
planning programming which will
record the immigration stories of older
community members in Sureth.
They will be translated, captioned,
and archived.
“We want to plant seeds about
who the Chaldeans are, everywhere,”
Namou said. “Our goal is to use the
funding to plant seeds of the history,
culture, and language of Chaldeans so
people become familiar with us.”
24 CHALDEAN NEWS JANUARY 2022