Maasai, Then and Now

Part of the Addressing the Statue exhibition.

Loss of Lands

For centuries, the Maasai people moved freely across the territory that would eventually become Kenya (1963) and Tanzania (1961), taking their cattle and other livestock to different seasonal grazing grounds. In the late 1800s, European colonizers began to restrict the movement of the Maasai. By the time Theodore Roosevelt traveled through East Africa in 1909 and 1910, the British government had forced Maasai off their lands to make way for white settlers. The effects of the loss of lands continue to this day for the Maasai.

Maasai people outside their kraal
Maasai people outside their kraal, or small community, in the early 1900s.
National Geographic Image Collection/GRANGER-All rights reserved.
Maasai cattle grazing with urban areas in view behind them.
With grazing land for cattle difficult to access, some Maasai utilize lands around urban areas.
Andrew Renneisen/The New York Times/Redux

Maasai Today

Today Maasai people are working to protect their land, language, and culture. Some communities, like Maji Moto, host tourists. At Maji Moto Maasai Cultural Camp, visitors have a chance to see wildlife and learn about cultural traditions on Maasai lands.

Salaton Ole Ntutu
Salaton Ole Ntutu is currently a Maasai chief in the community of Maji Moto, where he owns the Maji Moto Maasai Cultural Camp and leads community projects.
Michael Benanav
Rose Kuresha
Rose Kuresha trained at the cultural camp and now lives and owns her own business in the Maasai community of Maji Moto in Kenya.
Michael Benanav
Sinti Nasi
Sinti Nasi was a chef at the Maji Moto Maasai Cultural Camp in Kenya and now owns his own business in the community.
Michael Benanav

 

 

Read more about

Theodore Roosevelt Timeline What did the artists and planners intend? How is the statue understood today? Perspectives on the statue People of the Plains, Then and Now Mayoral Advisory Commission Report