Editing Chakotay (section)

==Reception==
Some criticism was directed at Chakotay's character development during the series. James Lileks for the ''[[Star Tribune]]'' said that "Chakotay, the rock-solid First Officer, remained rock-solid",<ref name=limpshome>{{cite news|last=Lileks|first=James|title='Voyager' limps home to its final frontier|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-74943558.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611063551/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-74943558.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 11, 2014|access-date=February 15, 2014|newspaper=Star Tribune|date=May 23, 2001}} {{subscription required}}</ref> but also suggested that "[a]ll of the characters ended the series as they began."<ref name=limpshome/>

Critics commented on the relationship between Janeway and Chakotay, with [[psychologist]] Richard Borofsky's views published in ''[[The Boston Herald]]''. He suggested that by several seasons into ''Voyager'', Chakotay had come to terms with his feelings for his Captain, but she was hesitant about entering into a relationship with a member of her crew. For the relationship to work in the future, it was said that Chakotay should not try to lead the relationship and Janeway needed to be more vulnerable.<ref>{{cite news|last=Perigard|first=Mark A.|title=Is it love?; Expert advice for prime-time's troubled twosomes|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-56413617.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611063531/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-56413617.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 11, 2014|access-date=February 15, 2014|newspaper=The Boston Herald|date=November 12, 1997}} {{subscription required}}</ref> Following the end of ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'', the romance between Chakotay and Janeway was described in the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' as the one most wanted to be seen on screen in any of the ''Star Trek'' series, but that "it never panned out. Dang!"<ref>{{cite news|title=Voyage over, 'Star Trek' charts final course to Planet Rerun.|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-132370305.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611063529/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-132370305.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 11, 2014|access-date=February 15, 2014|newspaper=The Chicago Tribune|date=May 12, 2005}}{{subscription required}}</ref> Chakotay's relationship with Seven was also commented on, and both [[UGO]] and [[io9]] complained that the relationship appeared at random.<ref>{{cite web|last=Fitzpatrick |first=Kevin |title=The Most Absolutely Awful TV Couples: #25: Seven of Nine and Chakotay |url=http://www.ugo.com/tv/worst-tv-couples-seven-of-nine-chakotay |publisher=UGO |date=February 14, 2012 |access-date=March 6, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130710004901/http://www.ugo.com/tv/worst-tv-couples-seven-of-nine-chakotay |archive-date=July 10, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Jasper|first1=MaryKate|last2=Griffith|first2=Jennifer|last3=Anders|first3=Charlie Jane|title=10 Most Unconvincing Romances in Science Fiction and Fantasy|url=http://io9.com/5904544/10-most-unconvincing-romances-in-science-fiction-and-fantasy|publisher=io9|date=April 24, 2012|access-date=March 7, 2014|archive-date=March 7, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307184952/http://io9.com/5904544/10-most-unconvincing-romances-in-science-fiction-and-fantasy|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2016 Chakotay was ranked as the eleventh most important character out of 100 of [[Starfleet]] within the ''Star Trek'' science fiction universe by ''[[Wired magazine|Wired]]'' magazine.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2016/09/star-treks-100-crew-members-ranked/|title=Star Trek's 100 Most Important Crew Members, Ranked|last=McMillan|first=Graeme|date=2016-09-05|magazine=Wired|access-date=2019-03-20|issn=1059-1028}}</ref> In 2018, [[Comic Book Resources|CBR]] ranked Chakotay the 20th best Starfleet character of ''Star Trek''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/star-trek-starfleet-members-ranked/|title=Star Trek: The 25 Best Members Of Starfleet, Ranked|date=2018-10-27|website=CBR|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-20}}</ref> In July 2019, ''[[Screen Rant]]'' ranked "[[The Fight (Star Trek: Voyager)|The Fight]]" as one of the top five worst of the series, singling out Chakotay as a major problem in the show noting how he did not really fit in, and had poor development.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/star-trek-best-worst-episodes-voyager/|title=Star Trek: The 5 Best Episodes Of Voyager (& The 5 Worst)|date=2019-07-11|website=ScreenRant|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-15}}</ref>

For his portrayal as Chakotay, Beltran won the Nosotros Golden Eagle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Series in 1997.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://kairosproductions.org/robert-beltran-bio/|title=Robert Beltran Bio - Kairos Productions}}</ref> He was nominated in 1996 for the [[NCLR]] Bravo Award for Outstanding Television Series Actor in a Crossover Role, and the [[ALMA Award]] for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Television Series in a Crossover Role in 1998 and 1999.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.journalistate.com/fitness/star-trek/33|title=Live Long And Prosper: Catch Up With The 'Star Trek' Cast|date=November 24, 2017}}</ref>

===Themes===
Chakotay's inclusion in the main cast of ''Voyager'' was seen by critics as one of several who were used to highlight the diversity within the series. This was highlighted during the episode "[[Faces (Star Trek: Voyager)|Faces]]", in which one scene showed Janeway, Tuvok, Harry Kim, and Chakotay in a single [[camera pan]].<ref>[[#leonard1997|Leonard (1997)]]: p. 123</ref> Beltran's individual position was that he was "continually positioned as an exotic native other in relation to the white female Captain Janeway",<ref>[[#geraghty2009|Geraghty (2009)]]: p. 66</ref> and was used to "help the white protagonist and progress the internal narrative."<ref>[[#geraghty2009|Geraghty (2009)]]: p. 94</ref>

The placement of a character of [[indigenous peoples]] descent in science fiction was highlighted in the media. Drew Hayden Taylor said that Chakotay was "perhaps the most well-known".<ref name=aboriginalpresence>{{cite news|last=Drew|first=Hayden Taylor|title=Aboriginal presence in science fiction fleeting and few|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-200164128.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611063601/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-200164128.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 11, 2014|access-date=February 15, 2014|newspaper=Wind Speaker|date=May 1, 2009}} {{subscription required}}</ref> Of Chakotay's origin, he said: "They never actually say what nation he is, but I do believe it's some Central American tribe."<ref name=aboriginalpresence/> Hayden Taylor wrote in a later article in 2012 describing the rise of Native American characters in the ''[[Twilight (2008 film)|Twilight]]'' film series that Chakotay was still the sole popular example of a Native American character in science fiction.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hayden Taylor|first=Drew|title=I like my types in stereo|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-279893138.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611063558/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-279893138.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 11, 2014|access-date=February 15, 2014|newspaper=Wind Speaker|date=January 1, 2012}} {{subscription required}}</ref> Chakotay was also described as "the only First Nations role model around in a futuristic setting" in the 2005 book, ''"Indian" Stereotypes in TV Science Fiction: First Nations' Voices Speak Out'',<ref name=adare45>[[#adare2005|Adare (2005)]]: p. 45</ref> but was also referred to as the "quintessential [[Tonto]] in outer space".<ref name=adare95>[[#adare2005|Adare (2005)]]: p. 95</ref> A similar criticism was highlighted of the character in ''Medicine Bags and Dog Tags: American Indian Veterans from Colonial Times to the Second Iraq War'' (2008), which called Chakotay "a creature of white fantasies" and suggested that he was "far more stereotypical than Tonto" as "at least Tonto was heroic and saved the Lone Ranger once in a while".<ref name=caroll24>[[#caroll2008|Caroll (2008)]]: p. 24</ref>

Although religion was referenced during the ''Star Trek'' franchise, such as in the ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' episode "[[Who Mourns for Adonais?]]",<ref name=wagnar36>[[#wagnarlundeen1998|Wagnar & Lundeen (1998)]]: p. 36</ref> it did not take a more prominent role until later in the series, with ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' exploring the Bajorans' beliefs and ''Voyager'' concentrating on those of Chakotay.<ref name=wagnar37>[[#wagnarlundeen1998|Wagnar & Lundeen (1998)]]: p. 37</ref> These included [[vision quest]]s, and other interpretations of Native American culture which were described by critics as showing a "very Hollywood version of Plains-culture religion".<ref name=adare45/>

The appearance of a medicine wheel in the episode "Cathexis" was described by Sierra S. Adare as showing Chakotay as a "'good Indian' in the classic [[Pocahontas]] sense".<ref name=adare45/> Chakotay is seen attempting to introduce rituals and meditation techniques to other crew members, something they failed to understand.<ref>[[#relke2006|Relke (2006)]]: p. 105</ref> These were said to be contrary to the tribal history described in "Tattoo", which was said to say that Chakotay's tribe descended from a pre-[[Maya civilization|Mayan]] culture in Central America. Adare attributed this to Euro-American/European writers writing inaccurate information into scripts.<ref name=adare82>[[#adare2005|Adare (2005)]]: p. 82</ref> However, the appearance of the character was described as "groundbreaking".<ref name=adare90>[[#adare2005|Adare (2005)]]: p. 90</ref>