Editing Chakotay (section)

==Concept and development==
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 |quote = As a leader, he is steady, fearless, and capable of inspiring absolute devotion. Though he comes onto ''Voyager'' more by necessity than choice, he quickly wins the respect of even the most die-hard Starfleet veterans. He strikes an immediate and powerful bond with Janeway, and an unusual one with Kim, who through Chakotay's example begins to question his own homogenization and the loss of his traditional values.
 |source = [[Rick Berman]], [[Michael Piller]], [[Jeri Taylor]], Chakotay's description, ''Star Trek: Voyager Bible'', 1995<ref name=bible13/>
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The inclusion of a [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] character in ''Star Trek: Voyager'' was suggested at an early stage in the development of the series. The [[Television producer|producer]]s were looking for an ethnic background which had not been seen before as a main character in the franchise. It was hoped that a Native American character would prove to be an inspiration in the same way that the appearance of [[Nyota Uhura|Uhura]] in ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'' later inspired [[Whoopi Goldberg]] and other [[African American]]s.<ref name=poe174>[[#poe1998|Poe (1998)]]: p. 174</ref> [[Executive producer]] [[Jeri Taylor]] said: "It seemed to us that Native Americans needed that same kind of role model and that same kind of boost&nbsp;... the future looks good, you have purpose, you have worth, you have value, you will be leaders, you will be powerful. That was one character choice we had early on."<ref name=poe174/> Taylor's notes from the early production in July 1993 describe the character as "First Officer – a human native American male, a '[[Queequeg]]' person who has renounced Earth and lives as an expatriate on another planet. A mystical, mysterious man with whom the Captain has some prior connection, not explained."<ref name=poe176>[[#poe1998|Poe (1998)]]: p. 176</ref> A month later, this description was expanded with the line, "This man has made another choice – to re-enter the world of [[Starfleet]]."<ref name=poe189>[[#poe1998|Poe (1998)]]: p. 189</ref> Chakotay was not the first Native American character to appear in the franchise, with "[[The Paradise Syndrome]]" in the [[Star Trek: The Original Series season 3|third season]] of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' showing a group of displaced humans following a Native American–like culture.<ref>[[#wagnarlundeen1998|Wagnar & Lundeen (1998)]]: p. 178</ref>

The producers aimed to develop some conflict between the members of the crew to produce a scenario similar to the [[Bajoran]] / Starfleet relationship seen in ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'', but wanted the characters to share the same ideals.<ref name=poe200/> To do this, the [[Maquis (Star Trek)|Maquis]] were created – a group of [[Federation (Star Trek)|Federation]] colonists from the [[Cardassian]] border in a disputed territory who were joined by some Starfleet officers who joined them to fight for their rights.<ref name=poe201>[[#poe1998|Poe (1998)]]: p. 201</ref> The producers had the Maquis introduced in other ''Star Trek'' series before ''Voyager'' in four episodes; two in ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' and two in ''Deep Space Nine''. It was a deliberate reference to the political situation in the [[West Bank]].<ref name=poe200>[[#poe1998|Poe (1998)]]: p. 200</ref>
[[File:Robert Beltran (8733362587).jpg|thumb|left|upright|Chakotay was played by Robert Beltran across all seven seasons of ''Star Trek: Voyager''.]]
In developing Chakotay, the producers sought the assistance of [[Jamake Highwater]],<ref name=poe199>[[#poe1998|Poe (1998)]]: p. 199</ref> a writer of more than 25 books of both fiction and non-fiction related to Native American myths and traditions.<ref name="poe200"/><ref name=papers>{{cite web|last1=O'Keefe|first1=Laura K.|last2=Malsbury|first2=Susan|title=Jamake Highwater papers|url=http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/archivalcollections/pdf/1395.pdf|publisher=The New York Public Library Humanities and Social Services Library Manuscript and Archives Division|date=July 2010|access-date=February 20, 2014}}</ref> Highwater was a controversial choice of advisor, having been exposed by [[Hank Adams]] and [[Vine Deloria, Jr.]] as taking a fake Native American ancestry to sell books.<ref name=vizenor181>[[#vizenor1994|Vizenor (1994)]]: p. 181</ref> Around September 21, 1993, Highwater gave seven pages of notes to producers regarding Chakotay's backstory, but his tribal ancestry was unresolved.<ref name=poe206>[[#poe1998|Poe (1998)]]: p. 206</ref> By the end of that month, [[Michael Piller]] drafted the first version of the [[writer's bible]] for the series in which the character was named "Chakotoy".<ref name=poe208>[[#poe1998|Poe (1998)]]: p. 208</ref> By the time Piller wrote the first draft of the story that eventually became the ''Voyager'' pilot "[[Caretaker (Star Trek: Voyager)|Caretaker]]", the character was known as "Chakotay" and been made a [[Sioux]]. By the third draft of the story, submitted at the start of November, he had become a [[Hopi people|Hopi]], but by the following February, he once again had no tribal affiliation.<ref name=poe221>[[#poe1998|Poe (1998)]]: p. 221</ref>

[[Winrich Kolbe]], the director of "Caretaker", was involved in casting the main cast for the series. He described the casting process for the part of Chakotay as difficult due to the lower numbers of [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] who were in the [[Screen Actors Guild]].<ref name=maiden>{{cite news|last=Gross|first=Edward|title=Maiden Voyage|url=http://www.vidiot.com/st-voy/articles/Article01.html|access-date=June 24, 2013|newspaper=Cinescape|date=January 1995}}</ref> The casting process came down to two actors, and the producers decided on [[Robert Beltran]], who until then was best known for appearing in the [[soap opera]] ''[[Models Inc.]]'' and was of [[Mexicans|Mexican]] heritage.<ref name=maiden/><ref>[[#trevino|Treviño (2001)]]: p. 365</ref> Beltran was not familiar with ''Star Trek'' before auditioning, and went along on the strength of the "Caretaker" script which showed the character becoming the second in command of ''Voyager'' after both their vessels are stranded in the [[Delta quadrant]].<ref name=catchup1>{{cite web|title=Catching Up With Robert Beltran, Part 1|url=http://www.startrek.com/article/catching-up-with-robert-beltran-part-1|publisher=Star Trek.com|date=July 20, 2012|access-date=February 15, 2014}}</ref><ref>[[#booker2004|Booker (2004)]]: p. 126</ref> Beltran explained the audition experience: "I felt neutral about the audition, didn't much care one way or the other. I went in the first time and wasn't really trying to get the part. They asked to see me again, and they wanted to see more of an edge to the character."<ref name=poe279>[[#poe1998|Poe (1998)]]: p. 279</ref>

Chakotay was originally written as a "calm, stoic" character, but Beltran expanded on the character during the audition process, something that Kolbe credited him for.<ref name=maiden/> The writer's bible described Chakotay as a very traditional Native American with an altar and traditional art in his quarters. It also mentioned his [[spirit guide]],<ref name=bible13>[[#bermanpillertaylor1995|Berman; Piller; Taylor (1995)]]: p. 13</ref> something which was picked up in the media report in ''[[TV Guide]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Logan|first=Michael|title=Voyager – A 'Star Trek' is Born|url=http://www.vidiot.com/st-voy/articles/tvguide01.html|access-date=June 29, 2013|newspaper=TV Guide|date=October 8, 1994}}</ref> Beltran wore a facial tattoo while playing Chakotay, which was applied with make-up. The design was created by [[Michael Westmore]], who deliberately created it so it did not represent any particular tribal culture.<ref name=poe283>[[#poe1998|Poe (1998)]]: p. 283</ref> The in-universe story of the tattoo and Chakotay's tribal origins were explained in the episode "[[Tattoo (Star Trek: Voyager)|Tattoo]]".<ref name=wagnar180>[[#wagnarlundeen1998|Wagnar & Lundeen (1998)]]: p. 180</ref>

Beltran gained the reputation on-set as a comedian.<ref>{{cite news|last=Becker Salmas|first=Eileen|title=Mulgrew Launches New-Age 'Voyager'|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-816426.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611063547/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-816426.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 11, 2014|access-date=February 15, 2014|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=January 15, 1995}} {{subscription required}}</ref> Following the [[Star Trek: Voyager season 1|first season]] and during a group interview with ''[[The Washington Times]]'', Beltran joked that he was asked to perform in ''[[Hamlet]]'' during the summer in [[Albuquerque]], but had been asked to wear Chakotay's facial tattoo.<ref>{{cite news|last=Spelling|first=Ian|title='Voyager's' Cast Difficult to Typecast|url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-56834954|access-date=February 15, 2014|newspaper=The Washington Times|date=July 7, 1996}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{subscription required}}</ref> During that time, he worked on the [[Oliver Stone]] film ''[[Nixon (film)|Nixon]]'' (1995).<ref>{{cite news|last=Miller|first=Ron|title=TV Stars Switch Gears during Summer Vacation|url=https://www.questia.com/library/1P2-32945437/tv-stars-switch-gears-during-summer-vacation#articleDetails|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140215133556/http://www.questia.com/library/1P2-32945437/tv-stars-switch-gears-during-summer-vacation%23articleDetails|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 15, 2014|access-date=February 15, 2014|newspaper=St Louis Post-Dispatch|date=June 28, 1995}}{{subscription required}}</ref> During the period when ''Voyager'' was run by Taylor and Piller as the executive producers, Beltran gave feedback on the character which was taken into account. He later explained that this ended following the introduction of [[Jeri Ryan]] as [[Seven of Nine]] onto the cast and [[Brannon Braga]] taking over from Taylor and Piller. Beltran felt that Chakotay was one of the characters alongside [[Harry Kim (Star Trek)|Harry Kim]], [[Tuvok]], and [[Neelix]] who were left behind by the new writers, who tended to concentrate on Janeway, Seven, and [[Doctor (Star Trek: Voyager)|The Doctor]].<ref name=catchup1/>

Beltran said that he was not aware of the effects this was having on the rest of the cast, saying: "For me it was like, 'OK, you can fire me if you want to. Go ahead, and I'll leave.'"<ref name=catchup1/> He compared his experience on ''Voyager'' to working in a car factory, and said that the repetitive scenes meant that it limited his creativity.<ref name=catchingup2>{{cite web|title=Catching Up With Robert Beltran, Part 2|url=http://www.startrek.com/article/catching-up-with-robert-beltran-part-2|publisher=Star Trek.com|date=July 21, 2012|access-date=February 15, 2014}}</ref> Beltran explained that it did not affect his relationship with the other actors, and in the end, he felt the producers decided to keep him on the cast as it did not make "very much difference, except to a very, very small percentage of fans who maybe didn't like what I said."<ref name=catchup1/>

In an interview to publicize the final episode of ''Voyager'', "Endgame", Beltran said: "We all had a great relationship with each other and we've all said how much we enjoy our crew. We have a terrific crew. But at the same time, I'm looking forward to what's next. It's exciting to know that something unknown is next."<ref>{{cite news|title='Star Trek: Voyager' Ends In 2-Hour Show|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-74627497.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611063554/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-74627497.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 11, 2014|access-date=February 15, 2014|newspaper=The Cincinnati Post|date=May 10, 2001}} {{subscription required}}</ref> The final episode introduced a romance between Seven of Nine and Chakotay. Ryan found this relationship confusing for the characters, as although it had been suggested in the episode "[[Human Error (Star Trek: Voyager)|Human Error]]", in the intervening episodes, the producers had told her and Beltran to ignore it.<ref>{{cite web|title=Catching Up with Voyager's Jeri Ryan – Part 1|url=http://www.startrek.com/article/catching-up-with-voyagers-jeri-ryan-part-1|publisher=Star Trek.com|date=March 29, 2011|access-date=March 6, 2014}}</ref>