Records of Yemeni sailors working in Michigan go back as far as the early 1900s.
A recent story in Bridge Michigan and Great Lakes Now talks about a project archiving that history at The Arab American National Museum in Dearborn.
Throughout the 20th century, millions of laborers from around the world came to work in the Great Lakes region, looking for robust industrial jobs.
Today, it’s estimated that 30,000 people of Yemeni heritage live in Michigan and about 700 of those work on Great Lakes ships.
Professor Sally Howell at the University of Michigan-Dearborn ran a research project with her students. They recorded 22 interviews, which detail hard work shuffling coal and working in ship smokehouses.
In the past, many Yemeni-Americans worked on Great Lake ships because of the winter offseason. When shipping shut down, it allowed extended time to return to Yemen to see their families.
Some of the Yemeni sailors acquired skills that led to them becoming navigators, which included guiding ships through the Detroit River.
The museum contains an archive of oral histories, photos and video footage of life on the frozen Great Lakes.
