It took nearly thirty long years to happen, but when Star Trek: Voyager premiered in 1995, it marked the first time a woman was the lead on a Star Trek series. Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) commanded the U.S.S. Voyager for seven seasons, during which time she managed to fight off the Borg, the Kazon, and explore dozens of strange new worlds. Not to mention inspire thousands of young women across the globe.
We’ve learned (via TrekMovie) that as a way of honoring this wonderful character, the city of Bloomington, Indiana is properly honoring the iconic captain with her own monument. Why in Bloomington, you might ask? Because the series designated that as her “future birthplace”. In a couple hundred years or so (give or take).
You can see a rendering of the future monument down below:
Janeway Collective
A campaign was launched last year by the Captain Janeway Bloomington Collective fan group, in order to gain funds to construct the monument. The campaign was successfully funded in the early part of this year, and the bronze bust was supposed to be unveiled on this Memorial Day weekend, next to the WonderLab Museum in downtown Bloomington. The Collective originally chose this weekend because it coincides with Janeway’s birthday; the series gave Janeway a birth date of May 20, 2336. This information came from the episode “11:59,” in which Mulgrew played her own ancestor in the year 2000. (Yes, Voyager had a Y2K-themed episode).
CBS
As as with most things this year however, the coronavirus put a dent into those plans for the time being. The new date for the official unveiling is now October 24, 2020. The hope is that some special guests will attend the ceremony, and we sincerely hope that Mulgrew herself will be beaming down to celebrate. Considering that Captain Janeway proved to be so inspiring to so many, it’s fitting that her future birthplace be given the same honorary as Captain Kirk’s future birthplace in Riverside, Iowa currently has.
CBS
Captain Kathryn Janeway had it harder than almost every other captain who was the lead on a Star Trek series. Unlike Captains Kirk, Picard and Sisko before her, Janeway’s crew found themselves stranded nearly 70 years away from home. Not only that, but half of her crew were anti-Starfleet rebels who now had to find a way to coexist with the same officers they once vilified. But throughout the show’s run, not only did Janeway make sure her crew survived in a strange and unknown part of space, but that they forged themselves into a family unit and retained the principals of the Federation. For these reasons alone, she’s a fictional character worth celebrating forever.
For more information on the Captain Janeway monument, as well as upcoming event in October, be sure to visit janewaycollective.org.
Featured Image: The Janeway Collective
