# Star Trek, where the heck are the Indians, Africans and Chinese? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 18, 2012, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-where-the-heck-are-the-indians-africans-and-chinese/616118 "2012-03-18T06:22:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2012, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-where-the-heck-are-the-indians-africans-and-chinese/616118/21 "2012-03-18T20:48:29Z")
No Betaziod Troi? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-where-the-heck-are-the-indians-africans-and-chinese/616118/22 "2012-03-18T20:49:36Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > But then, people from Vulcan have American accents to…[snip] The Vulcans have Canadian accents. When they get really drunk they’ll call each other ‘hoser’. It just doesn’t happen much. > [@PSXer](#): > > I thought Riker was born in Alaska [Memory Alpha says Alaska](http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/William_T._Riker). ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-where-the-heck-are-the-indians-africans-and-chinese/616118/23 "2012-03-18T20:54:19Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > TOS: > 1 Alien: Spock. IIRC Spock was half human. > [@Tengu](#): > > **TNG** : > 2 Aliens: > Worf - Klingon, born on a colony world, raised on Earth, in St Petersburg, Russia > Data - Android, built on Omicron Theta You’ve forgotten Deanna Troi, another half-human, from Betazed. > [@](#): > > Julian Bashir - Not conclusively known, but likely English His accent and interactions with O’Brien seem to support an English upbringing. But his name and appearance, and those of his parents, point to Middle Eastern extraction. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2012, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-where-the-heck-are-the-indians-africans-and-chinese/616118/24 "2012-03-18T21:00:32Z")
Way off in the future there shouldn’t be distinct races of people on earth. Intermarriage between races is already making it hard to identify some people. Imagine what a thousand years will bring. there may be pockets of Chinese or people in India that retain their distinct race. It all depends on immigration. If those countries experience large scale immigration then they will join the huge melting pot too. Picard, Riker, O’Brian would have a very complex blend of humanity in their backgrounds. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-where-the-heck-are-the-indians-africans-and-chinese/616118/25 "2012-03-18T21:12:10Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > The Vulcans have Canadian accents. When they get really drunk they’ll call each other ‘hoser’. It just doesn’t happen much. > > [Memory Alpha says Alaska](http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/William_T._Riker). There was that episode where the toadying ensign tried connecting with Riker in ten-forward, by saying that his grandfather was Canadian, only to have Riker fire back that he was from Alaska. As though this is supposed to mean something 250 years after they ceased to be separate legal entities under a United Earth government. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2012, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-where-the-heck-are-the-indians-africans-and-chinese/616118/26 "2012-03-18T21:16:59Z")
Wasn’t China the leading member of the Eastern Coalition during WWWIII? I’ve heard that as a fanwank to explain the dearth of Chinese (& other Asians) characters in Star Trek. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2012, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-where-the-heck-are-the-indians-africans-and-chinese/616118/27 "2012-03-18T21:46:53Z")
> [@antonio107](#): > > As though this is supposed to mean something 250 years after they ceased to be separate legal entities under a United Earth government. Yeah, that would be just as unlikely as say… nth generation North Americans getting all dressed up in green and such-like to celebrate some Irish sant’s name-day. 🙂 (Picard as I recall also waxes quite lyrical about the right order in which certain colours should appear on a flag… that presumably no longer exists). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2012, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-where-the-heck-are-the-indians-africans-and-chinese/616118/28 "2012-03-18T22:07:21Z")
> [@antonio107](#): > > There was that episode where the toadying ensign tried connecting with Riker in ten-forward, by saying that his grandfather was Canadian, only to have Riker fire back that he was from Alaska. As though this is supposed to mean something 250 years after they ceased to be separate legal entities under a United Earth government. At least as late as the TOS era, the United States was still a distinct legal entity, according to the _Enterprise_’s Library Computer: [United States of America | Memory Alpha | Fandom](http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/USA) The episode you’re thinking of was “Lower Decks”: [Star Trek: Lower Decks | Memory Alpha | Fandom](http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Lower_Decks) ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2012, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-where-the-heck-are-the-indians-africans-and-chinese/616118/29 "2012-03-18T23:48:18Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > I thought Riker was Canadian. Alaska. > [@An\_Gadai](#): > > Miles and Keiko were also in ST:TNG. But they weren’t major characters - Miles didn’t even have a consistent rank for most of his TNG appearances - he was an officer (albeit not a highly ranked one) for his first several. > [@psychonaut](#): > > According to his statements on TNG and DS9, Wolf was raised by his human adoptive parents not on Earth but on the colony world Gault. Yes, but I was talking Wo_r_f, not Wolf. 😛 Seriously, must have been misremembering. Not sure where I picked up such a specific memory, though. (Maybe the Rozhenkos mentioned originally being from there?) > [@psychonaut](#): > > IIRC Spock was half human. Yes, he was. For purpose of this, I count hybrids as aliens, since aside from Naomi that was the significant part, and most of them were raised among their non-human parent’s people. > [@](#): > > You’ve forgotten Deanna Troi, another half-human, from Betazed. Oop, yes, I did. > [@](#): > > His accent and interactions with O’Brien seem to support an English upbringing. But his name and appearance, and those of his parents, point to Middle Eastern extraction. That’s primarily because Alexander Siddig is half-Sudanese, half-English, and raised in England. While they never nailed down where Julian was from, one of the creators (Ronald D Moore) has stated that he’s probably English, with his family ultimately coming from Sudan (chiefly because Siddig is from there), Pakistan, or India. (Brian George, who plays his father is Israeli-born, English raised, of Iraqi decent, and most famous for playing Indians (including Raj’s father on Big Bang Theory). Fadwa El Guindi, who plays his mother is an Arab-American anthropologist, with no other acting credits.) ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2012, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-where-the-heck-are-the-indians-africans-and-chinese/616118/30 "2012-03-18T23:53:16Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > Geordi’s African, born in Mogadishu. (The nation may be the same one Uhura was born in - but it’s hard to tell, because they used different names (The United States of Africa and The African Confederation), but given Geordi’s birth in Mogadishu, and Uhura’s speaking Swahili, chances are the two nations at least overlapped in geography.) > > Of the Asian characters, Keiko O’Brien was also Japanese born. (Harry Kim and Hikaru Sulu are both American Born - South Carolina for Harry, California for Sulu.) > > No major characters come from the subcontinent - though it’s likely the Bashirs ultimately come from there (or possibly the Sudan), but by the time Julian was born, they were living in England. Though neither aspect was ever laid out except in creator’s comments, that I know of. (He is known to be descended from one Singh el Bashir.) > > Australia gets the shaft, though…can’t think of a single Aussie character. I was under the impression that Julian Bashir was of Indian or Pakistani background, but he spoke with an English accent and did have at least some attachment to British culture (we see him sing “Jerusalem” with O’Brien at one point), and I’m not sure if he was intended to be an India-Indian or if he was intended to be a British person of Indian descent. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2012, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-where-the-heck-are-the-indians-africans-and-chinese/616118/31 "2012-03-18T23:59:01Z")
> [@grude](#): > > I knew Travis was born in space but assumed Hoshi was from the USA due to her accent 🙂 Its easy to miss that Uhura is from Africa because of the actresses accent too. > > Of the captains seen on screen only one is not from the USA(Picard). Archer, Kirk, Sisco, and Janeway are all from the USA! > > And yes I know the real world reasons for this so you do not need to remind me of where the show is filmed 😛 In an alternate future, we find Jake Sisco living in Louisiana, and so that might indicate that the DS9 commander (or his wife) had some Louisiana creole/Cajun/etc. background. Do we see him ever make any Cajun dishes? ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-where-the-heck-are-the-indians-africans-and-chinese/616118/32 "2012-03-19T00:15:01Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > In an alternate future, we find Jake Sisco living in Louisiana, and so that might indicate that the DS9 commander (or his wife) had some Louisiana creole/Cajun/etc. background. Do we see him ever make any Cajun dishes? There are episodes that feature Sisco’s father who owns a restaurant in Louisiana, so it is safe to say the family has a connection to the area. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-where-the-heck-are-the-indians-africans-and-chinese/616118/33 "2012-03-19T00:19:47Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > I was under the impression that Julian Bashir was of Indian or Pakistani background, but he spoke with an English accent and did have at least some attachment to British culture (we see him sing “Jerusalem” with O’Brien at one point), and I’m not sure if he was intended to be an India-Indian or if he was intended to be a British person of Indian descent. The bit I mention there (and in my last post) is the intent of one of the creators, Ronald D Moore, who wrote the episode with his parents. I don’t think any of the others have commented on their intent, one way or the other. > [@robert\_columbia](#): > > In an alternate future, we find Jake Sisco living in Louisiana, and so that might indicate that the DS9 commander (or his wife) had some Louisiana creole/Cajun/etc. background. Do we see him ever make any Cajun dishes? More telling on Sisko’s Louisiana background is his father’s running a restaurant in New Orleans. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-where-the-heck-are-the-indians-africans-and-chinese/616118/34 "2012-03-19T00:37:25Z")
And what about Sisko’s father’s New Orleans restaurant? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-where-the-heck-are-the-indians-africans-and-chinese/616118/35 "2012-03-19T01:04:03Z")
There was [V’Sal](http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/V%27Sal), a barber on the Enterprise-D, who clearly had an Indian accent even though he was a Bolian (and was played by Indian voice actor Shelly Desai). ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-where-the-heck-are-the-indians-africans-and-chinese/616118/36 "2012-03-19T02:22:59Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > We’ll split the difference, Riker can be Canadian, but the beard was American. 😉 Funny…Troi never _sounded_ American… ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-where-the-heck-are-the-indians-africans-and-chinese/616118/37 "2012-03-19T02:46:35Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > There was [V’Sal](http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/V%27Sal), a barber on the Enterprise-D, who clearly had an Indian accent even though he was a Bolian (and was played by Indian voice actor Shelly Desai). Two members of Starfleet went by Singh, FWIW: > **[Singh (Lieutenant)](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Singh_(Lieutenant))** > > For the 24th century officer, see Singh (Lieutenant jg) Lieutenant Singh was a male Human Starfleet officer who lived during the mid-23rd century. He served in the operations division aboard the USS Enterprise under Captain James T. Kirk, during a... [http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Singh\_(Lieutenant\_Junior\_Grade)](http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Singh_(Lieutenant_Junior_Grade)) ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-where-the-heck-are-the-indians-africans-and-chinese/616118/38 "2012-03-19T10:47:41Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > According to his statements on TNG and DS9, Wolf was raised by his human adoptive parents… In Soviet Union, wolf raised by _you!_ ---
**Author:** ![SticksAndString](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@SticksAndString](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SticksAndString)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-where-the-heck-are-the-indians-africans-and-chinese/616118/39 "2012-03-19T10:52:37Z")
I was gonna say that or the fact that Jake mentions how great his dad’s gumbo is to Alternate-Reality Mom (I watched all of the Mirror Universe boxed set disc 1 a couple days ago). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-where-the-heck-are-the-indians-africans-and-chinese/616118/40 "2012-03-19T13:34:36Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Two members of Starfleet went by Singh, FWIW: > > [Singh (Lieutenant) | Memory Alpha | Fandom](http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Singh_(Lieutenant)) > [http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Singh\_(Lieutenant\_Junior\_Grade)](http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Singh_(Lieutenant_Junior_Grade)) Fixed your first link: [Singh (Lieutenant) | Memory Alpha | Fandom](http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Singh_%28Lieutenant%29) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-where-the-heck-are-the-indians-africans-and-chinese/616118.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-where-the-heck-are-the-indians-africans-and-chinese/616118.md?page=3)