Response to Mr. Cavellier's Comment on the Background Information

Around the 14 century, the Tutsies migrated to Rwanda from Ethiopia because they were cattle-herding warriors and therefore traveled and migrated to follow their cattle and give them the best place to live. There is evidence that the Hutus were pastoral, not nomadic, prior to the arrival of the Tutsies. Many Tutsies stayed in Rwanda once they arrived and changed their way of life from cattle-herding to farming. The Tutsies did not come into Rwanda all at once, it was a gradual migration that was mostly peaceful. The Tutsies used their cattle ownership (because cattle are a symbol of power and wealth) and advanced fighting skills to gain economic, political, and social control over the Hutus. Soon after the Tutsies settled in Rwanda, a Tutsi king came into power. Eventually, land ownership was taken away from the Hutus and given to the Tutsi king, called the Mwami.

Although colonizing countries saw the Tutsi people as superior, some of the Tutsies do not believe this. Yes, they accepted the privileges and superior treatment given to them but some of them did not view the Hutus as inferior. However, some Tutsies did see themselves as superior and this caused conflict between the two groups. I do not think you can get an exact number on how many people felt or believed they were superior to those who did not because even if you took a poll (or counted in some way) many people would most likely not give the answer they truly believed.

Yes, I think the Hutu and Tutsi people are similar to the Civil War slaves in America. The colonists (which would correlate with the slave owners in the Civil War) saw the Tutsies were taller, lighter skinned, and had bigger skulls and therefore gave them positions of power and more privileges than the Hutus. The Tutsies are similar to the light skinned slaves who were house slaves and were given better jobs. The Hutus are like the dark skinned slaves who had to work on the field and perform the difficult jobs.

Sources:
http://www.africa.upenn.edu/NEH/rwhistory.htm
http://www.orvillejenkins.com/peoples/tutsiandhutu.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origins_of_Tutsi_and_Hutu