Nathan Chasing Horse, an actor in Dances with Wolves and other projects, was sentenced Tuesday in Las Vegas to life in prison after his conviction on multiple charges of sexual assault against Indigenous women and girls.
Chasing Horse, 49, whose full name is Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse, was convicted on more than a dozen charges, mostly of sexually assaulting three women. He was arrested in 2023 following a SWAT raid on his home. The Associated Press reported at the time that he had become a cult leader and was accused of abusing “young Indigenous girls during a period spanning two decades.”
His accusers and their families told Judge Jessica Peterson in Las Vegas that Chasing Horse exploited his role as a spiritual leader, the AP reported Tuesday. Chasing Horse, who continues to deny the allegations, will be eligible for parole in 2063. He also faces other charges in British Columbia and has a warrant out in neighboring Alberta.
During his 11-day Las Vegas trial, Chasing Horse’s victims described how they went to him for medical help or participated in his ceremonies. Deputy District Attorney Bianca Pucci detailed what she called “a web of abuse,” citing one particularly disturbing case. She said Chasing Horse allegedly told one victim, who was 14 at the time, that the spirits wanted her to give up her virginity to save her cancer-stricken mother. He then sexually assaulted her and told her that if she told anyone, her mother would die, the Deputy DA added. The sexual assaults continued for years, Pucci said, per the AP.
Chasing Horse played the young Sioux Smiles a Lot in Kevin Costner’s 1990 epic Dances with Wolves, which won seven Oscars including Best Picture. He also appeared as Sleeping Bear in three episodes of the acclaimed 2005 TNT miniseries Into the West. His acting credits also include the TV movies Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee and The Broken Chain and 2003 feature DreamKeeper.