Captain Chakotay (Robert Beltran) has had a fascinating life inside and outside Starfleet as depicted in Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Prodigy. Chakotay grew up in a Federation colony positioned on the Cardassian Demilitarized Zone that was populated by those of Native American descent. While it's never been confirmed on-screen, Chakotay's home was intended by writer Jeri Taylor to be Dorvan V, the Native American colony from the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Journey's End". When the Cardassians attempted to take over his home, Chakotay's father was killed resisting them, and this tragic death had an understandably seismic impact on Chakotay.
The Cardassians' takeover of his colony was agreed upon by the treaty between the Federation and the Cardassian Union, forcing Chakotay to reconsider his position in Starfleet. Like many officers who opposed the Federation's appeasement of the Cardassians, Chakotay joined the Maquis and fought back against the takeover of his colony, eventually becoming a leader within the organization. It was Chakotay's time in the Maquis that brought him into contact with Star Trek: Voyager's Tuvok (Tim Russ), who was undercover aboard Chakotay's ship the Val Jean when it went missing in the Badlands. It was the disappearance of the Val Jean that brought Chakotay into the orbit of the USS Voyager, and Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew).
