Arab American history in Indianapolis
In 1900, there were at least 208 Arabic-speaking immigrants in Indiana, Curtis’ project “Arab Indianapolis” found. By 1910, the population grew to about 1,000 people. They worked at factories and as peddlers. They owned grocery stores and retail shops. By 1935, there were at least 43 Syrian and Lebanese grocers in Indianapolis, according to Curtis.
His own ancestors, from Syria and Lebanon, settled in Illinois, but he’s called Indianapolis home for more than 15 years. The parallels in both states are similar, Curtis said, as people assume that Midwest history is largely homogeneous and white.
“Arab Indianapolis” makes the case otherwise, through a website, book and documentary.
St. George Orthodox Church, in Fishers today, was originally founded in 1925 as the “first and only” Syrian church in Indianapolis. About 15,000 Arab Americans from Indianapolis served in WWII, according to Curtis’ research.
In 1964, Helen Corey became Indiana’s first Arab American to hold elected office, as a reporter of the Indiana Supreme and Appellate Courts. Around the same time, she also published “The Art of Syrian Cookery,” “one of the most influential cookbooks on Syrian food ever written in English,” Curtis wrote in his own book.
Decades later, Jeff George, the great-grandson of Syrian immigrants, cemented his legacy as a quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts. Mitch Daniels, the grandson of Syrian immigrants, took office as governor of Indiana.
In his documentary, when Curtis asks, "Why is it important that people know that Arab Americans have contributed to building this town?"
Dr. Shadia Jalal, a Jordanian American doctor in Indianapolis, sums it all up: "I guess it means we're Hoosiers."
This history is important not just on an academic level, but on a personal level for Arab American Hoosiers, too.
Growing up, when the other kids asked, “What are you?” Curtis’ grandmother always had an answer ready, telling him: You’re Arab. You’re Syrian. You’re Lebanese.
In that assurance, he found a sense of belonging.
“She was the one who gave me my Arab American identity as a way of belonging not just to historic pasts in a land far away, but also belonging to America,” Curtis said. “It was really important to assure a little brown-skinned boy in rural Southern Illinois of his value, of his worth.”