Star of “Dances with Wolves,” actor Nathan Chasing Horse, will go on trial in January in Las Vegas on multiple charges of sexually abusing Indigenous women and girls. The trial has been postponed for over a year since Chasing Horse challenged the initial charge against him. He pleaded not guilty to 21 felony charges, including kidnapping, sexual assault, and producing and possessing films depicting child sexual abuse, according to court records.
Prosecutors moved forward with a new indictment after the Nevada Supreme Court dismissed the first one last month. The “grooming” notion was rejected on procedural grounds when the court found that prosecutors had misused the grand jury process by introducing it without an expert witness. However, the court clarified that its decision did not prove Chasing Horse’s guilt or innocence; rather, it only showed that the grand jury process had been carried out incorrectly.
Famous for his part as Smiles A Lot in “Dances with Wolves,” Chasing Horse is originally from the Sicangu Sioux’s Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. By portraying himself as a Lakota spiritual leader and conducting healing ceremonies across North America after his acting career, he amassed a following that prosecutors claim he used to prey on and take advantage of weaker women and girls.
Chasing Horse allegedly misused his status as a self-proclaimed medicine man by using spiritual practices and rituals to control and manipulate potential victims, according to authorities. After his arrest in January 2023 near Las Vegas, which marked a watershed, U.S. and Canadian law enforcement officials started looking into more accusations against him.
Chasing Horse was charged with other crimes by various jurisdictions after his capture. His arrest in Montana was highlighted by law enforcement as supporting long-standing claims of people trafficking on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Similar charges of exploitation had previously led to his expulsion from the reserve in 2015 by tribal officials.
Other counts included in the current indictment in Las Vegas included claims that he had filmed intercourse with one of his victims while she was less than 14. At his residence in North Las Vegas, where he allegedly lived with several spouses, including the young girl in the tapes, smartphones were discovered in a locked safe.
The prosecution claims that Chasing Horse was able to evade scrutiny for decades because of his notoriety and influence. They contend that he used threats and trickery to keep his victims in line and allow him to carry out his alleged crimes.
A lot of attention has been paid to the Chasing Horse case, especially among Indigenous populations. Concerns of exploitation under the pretense of spiritual and cultural authority have been raised by the allegations. In order to address the particular allegations as well as the more general problem of abuse in vulnerable groups, his impending trial is seen as a crucial step.
