In the Detroit metropolitan area, an estimated 490,000 individuals refer to themselves as Chaldeans. While most people in the Detroit area are accustomed to the term, due to small populations elsewhere, few individuals outside the area have heard the term. Even fewer individuals know the full definition of what it means to be Chaldean or the history behind Chaldean Americans.
Chaldeans are commonly thought of as Christian Middle Easterners, but this definition lacks precision. More specifically, Chaldeans are Roman Catholic individuals who have immigrated from the northern Tigris-Euphrates Valley, the area historically known as Mesopotamia, and presently known as Iraq. It should be acknowledged that while Chaldeans compose only about 10% of Iraq’s population, the vast majority of Iraqis living in America are Chaldean.
As a result of the early promise of Detroit’s auto industry, the vast majority of Chaldeans living in America reside in Detroit, with small communities also appearing in.
