First Officer Commander Chakotay (performed by Robert Beltran)
Home region: Born on Dorvan V (Cardassian-Federation border)
Year of Birth: 2335
Parents: Son of Kolopak
Education: Starfleet Academy, 2350-54
Marital status: single
A Native American descendant, this onetime Starfleet lieutenant commander
resigned from his position as an instructor in Starfleet's Advanced Tactical
Training in 2370 to join the Maquis, sparked by his father's death fighting
Cardassians on the tribe's homeworld Dorvan V along the Demilitarized Zone.
Chakotay is a gentle man but resolute, and is one of the Maquis who are truly
in the fight for principle, not mercenary gain or violent outlet - as was one
of his students, Lt. Ro Laren.
Today Chakotay looks to his spiritual Mayan background for inner comfort - and
doesn't mind sharing that belief with others, when asked, or even enduring some
good-natured ribbing about it from Torres and Paris, among others. He uses a
spririt guide summoned by his medicine bundle, prays to speak with his father
for guidance, and uses a Mayan-descended medicine wheel for self-healing.
With amother suffering from ongoing neck muscle spasms, he is also reportedly
an excellent masseuse.
However, he didn't always have such reverence for his ancestors' ways. His
father Kolopak was insistent upon finding their peoples' ancestral home and
did so in the Central American jungle in 2350, when Chakotay was 15. But the
young man had already been casting his lot with Starfleet crews patrolling the
border, and stunned his father on that trip with the news he'd be leaving the
tribe to attend Starfleet Academy after his newfound aquaintance Captain Sulu
agreed to sponsor him at Starfleet Academy, even at his young age. Despite that
resistance, Chakotay did learn many survival skills from his father, such as
building log cabins and fire-starting.
Chakotay's piloting skills trace back to extensive and early Starfleet Academy
training. From a freshman course over adjacent North America, he went to Venus
to master atmospheric storms and had yet another semester dealing with asteroids
in the Sol asteroid belt.
The virtual estrangement between father and son lasted until 2371 when Kolopak
died defending his home in the early days of Cardassian harassment, even as the
final border treaty was being signed. Chakotay took to wearing his tattoo, a
symbol of those jungle descendants, to honor his father, who wore it also; even
his own name is a cherished gift from his tribe. Later Chakotay reported considering
archeology as a second occupation, either in the field or in academics.
Chakotay's people, tracing their lineage back past Mayans to the Rubber Tree
People of Central America, resisted the intrusion of more technological societies
until the devleopment of warp drive in the 21st century allowed them to leave
Earth and find their own home for good. One 20th century forebear he knows of
was a schoolteacher in Arizona.
Even today its members avoid modern devices such as transporters wherever they
can, and he was taught that nothing is personally owned save the courage and
loyalty in one's own heart. Despite his tribe's move, the adult Chakotay means
Earth when he thinks of "home" - from the Arizona desert and the Baja California
peninsula over to the Gulf of Mexico.
Known members of Chakotay's Maquis crew include B'Elanna Torres, Lon Suder,
Kurt Bendera, Kenneth Dalby, Mariah Henley, (First Name Unknown) Ayala,
(FNU) Hogan, (FNU) Jackson; Bajoran nationals Seska, Gerron and Jarvin; and a
Bolian, Chell.
borrowed from Christoph Reuter
Chat transcripts with Robert Beltran:
People chat with Robert Beltran and Ethan Phillips
Chakotay and Robert Beltran links:
The ORB The Official Robert Beltran site.
The (Completely) Unofficial Robert Beltran Shrine
to the Voyager crew page.
to the Star Trek page.
to the main index.
