Karen Blixen - Isak Dinesen home

Question 73: Land for "her" Kikuyu?

Q. Did Karen Blixen petition the British government to provide a place for "her" Kikuyu as shown in the movie, Out of Africa?

A. Karen Blixen worked for several months to get land for the Africans (from a variety of native groups) on her farm. She finally succeeded in getting them a piece of land in the Dagoretti Forest Reserve, not far from her farm.

The phrase "'her'" Kikuyu has been emphasized by advocates of political correctness, who find Karen Blixen's phrase derogatory.  However, in her time the phrase referred to that group of people for whom she took responsibility. The phrase "my people" was also used less in the possessive sense than as brothers, or cousins, to her.

Copyright © 2003 by Linda Donelson. All rights reserved.