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 Uhura in Star Trek: The Original Series later inspired Whoopi Goldberg and other African Americans. 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 ... 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." 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." A month later, this description was expanded with the line, "This man has made another choice – to re-enter the world of Starfleet." Chakotay was not the first Native American character to appear in the franchise, with "The Paradise Syndrome" in the third season of Star Trek: The Original Series showing a group of displaced humans following a Native American–like culture. 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. To do this, the Maquis were created – a group of 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. 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. In developing Chakotay, the producers sought the assistance of Jamake Highwater, a writer of more than 25 books of both fiction and nonfiction related to Native American myths and traditions. 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. Around September 21, 1993,