Mindy Budgor, Rich American Woman, Becomes Maasai’s First Woman Warrior

Thirty three-year-old, Caucasian, middleclass Mindy Budgor is the first female Maasai warrior, marking a historic moment in Africa and beyond on her own! She’s even written a book about her exhausting, yet inspiring experience called, “Warrior Princess: My Quest to Become the First Female Maasai Warrior,” which was published in late 2013 that doesn't at all reek of imperialism, privilege, or cultural incompetency. She hadn't always set out to be a Maasai warrior. After attending undergrad at the University of Chicago, building and selling a business, and getting a job that “kept me in Gucci,” then 27-year-old Budgor was ready to find herself. Realizing that all of the glitz and glamour her life consisted of was not all the world had to offer, she set out to find a purpose and a meaning to her life. Unlike many other Americans, she discovered that there could be no better way to accomplish this then head over to Africa to help build a health clinic there. Budgor found herself in the Maasai Mara, a reserve in southwestern Kenya, where the Maasai people lived.

The Maasai consist of semi-nomadic tribes who live in Kenya and Tanzania who began migrating South from Northwest Kenya in the 15^th century. The Maasai have many rites of passage and ceremonies, including circumcision and emanyatta, where a man might live for up to ten years learning how to be a morran (warrior). In her Today Show interview, Budgor recounts a conversation with a Maasai warrior and is baffled when he asserts that women are not strong enough or brave enough to be warriors. She then comments to her interviewers, “Gosh, I’ve got to fly around the world to hear the same thing again?” Although similar patriarchal behavior has been heavily demonstrated in Budgor’s own nation, it seemed fitting that she prove men wrong in a completely different country and become Maasai’s first woman warrior by flying back to her home in the States, training for six weeks to prepare herself to be a warrior, and then flying back to Kenya. 

Returning to Kenya, Budgor showed even more courage and grit than ever before in the face of huge obstacles. Budgor was told no by a local chief with whom she had worked during her stint with the health clinic. Budgor did not know the local language and needed a translator during the entire duration of her stay. Budgor wanted to change centuries of tradition by participating in a sacred rite of passage that women have never been allowed into. Moreover, she needed to be the mouthpiece for all Maasai women and change the status quo and show the Maasai men and women that women were equal to men (but that neither were equal to Americans). Somehow, despite these numerous red warning flags, Budgor succeeded and had a Maasai warrior lead her through the rite of passage—shortened from three to seven years to a grueling two and a half months. She recounts all of these difficulties, saying that she could bring “nothing but the bare essentials” which included “a bottle of Chanel Dragon red nail polish and a set of pearl earrings.” World renowned media sources such as Glamour magazine have featured excerpts of Budgor’s memoir in their publications. Although the journey was difficult, Budgor says that during the experience, “I felt beautiful. I felt strong. I felt proud.” The experience was certainly empowering for Budgor, though whether or not that feeling is shared with the rest of the Maasai people remains a mystery.

Later, when asked about what advice she would give to readers, she says, “Dig deep. Find your passion. Never let no get in your way. If you hit a roadblock, bulldoze it.”

Whether that roadblock is not having your Chanel Dragon red nail polish during a hunting trip in Kenya or having to change the longstanding traditions of a tribal community to prove a point, without hesitation or thought of consequence, you should always overcome it.

Because who knows? Maybe you, too, are the next female warrior.

Read the Glamour excerpt of Mindy’s book here:

http://www.glamour.com/inspired/2013/09/meet-mindy-budgor-the-worlds-first-female-maasai-warrior?currentPage=1

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Sidenote: While I will not be going abroad, I saw Mindy’s book and the huge response to it, both good and bad, as something really interesting and relevant for us to discuss, especially in addressing our roles as volunteers. Although we may see Mindy’s actions as thoughtless, self-aggrandizing, and completely oblivious to the culture and people that she was “immersing” herself in, I believe that Mindy had good intentions about what she was trying to do. We all have good intentions, too, and maybe without having gone to Berkeley or taken GPP 115 I could’ve done the same thing. And if we can learn anything from Mindy—though it might not be the message that she was trying to get across—it might be that we need more than good intentions, whether that is trying to understand those who you will be working with or being conscious of your own background and privilege.