Chakotay ' s tribe Chakotay ' s tribe was a group of Native American s descended from the ancient Rubber Tree People . History . The tribe was descended from the ancient Rubber Tree People of the Central America n jungle . According to ancient myth , the Sky Spirit s from above created the first Rubber People in their own image and led the way to a sacred land where the Rubber People would live for eternity . This story had a basis in truth : the Rubber Tree People traced their lineage to the Inheritors , the Human s honored by the Sky Spirits , which turned out to be ancient alien visitors , with certain genetic gifts . Their ancient language , also shared with their cousins in Central America , appeared almost unchanged from that of the Sky Spirits . The exact origins of the tribe were obscure until , during the 24th century , Kolopak spent some years tracking down the origins of his tribe , and his son Chakotay later had the opportunity to meet the Sky Spirits on their homeworld in the Delta Quadrant . ( ) Some centuries before the 24th century , many women of the tribe were rape d by white conquerors . The tribe did not reject the children born from this , but accepted them into the tribe . One of these , Ce Acatl , became a great leader . ( ) By the 24th century , the tribe had a presence on a colony near the Cardassian border . This group was opined to have refused to accept the 24th century , at least as compared to other tribes . ( ) Spiritual beliefs . Tribe members had rich spiritual beliefs . They honored the Sky Spirits and the land . ( ) In a practice similar to , but predating , Carl Jung ' s active imagination technique , tribe members were taught that an animal guide accompanied them through life , and that they should talk to them as if to a counselor . They could not speak this animal ' s name without offending it . Vision quest s might be undertaken , induced originally using psychoactive herb s , and later through a device called an akoonah . A medicine wheel was a tool used to track altered states of consciousness , particularly in a medical context . ( ) A medicine bundle , custom assembled by each individual to contain objects of a personal nature and not quickly shown around , was a component in some spiritual rituals . ( ) Chakotay associated his death with crossing over into the Happy Hunting Grounds . The dead might be commemorated using a ritual called the Pakra . ( ) A blessing attributed to the spirits of these people wished them " Peace in your heart , fortune in your steps " . ( ) Other cultural practices . The Native American practice that if someone saved another person ' s life , their life belonged to their savior did not apply to this tribe . They had also never used bows and arrows . ( ) These people believed that a man did not own land , and that he didn ' t own anything but the courage and loyalty in his heart . ( ) Chakotay considered his name to be a gift from his tribe . ( ) In 2372 , Chakotay made up an ancient legend he claimed existed among his people . It pertained to an angry warrior and his tribe finding peace by vowing to protect a female chief and her tribe . ( ) In addition to the blessing mentioned above , another saying of the tribe was " Even the eagle must know when to sleep " . ( ) Other cultural concepts included :