NORTH LAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas police Tuesday arrested a former “Dances With Wolves” actor and raided the home of an alleged cult leader accused of sexually assaulting young Native girls over a period of two decades, according to police data obtained by The Associated Press.
Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse, who is named Chasing Horse by Nathan, was taken into custody in the afternoon near the North Las Vegas home he was said to share with his five wives. SWAT officers were seen outside the two-story house in the evening as detectives searched the property.
Known for his role as the young Sioux tribesman Smiles a Lot in the Oscar-winning Kevin Costner film, Chasing Horse gained a reputation among tribes in the United States and in Canada as a would-be medicine man who performed healing ceremonies and spiritual gatherings and, as such, police allege, he used his position to abuse young Native American girls.
His arrest is the culmination of a months-long investigation that began after police received a tip in October 2022. According to a 50-page search warrant obtained by AP, Chasing Horse is believed to be the leader of a cult known as The Circle.
And it comes as US attorneys general and legislators are exploring how to create specialized units to handle cases involving Indigenous women.
In South Dakota, the Attorney General’s office has put a new focus on crimes against Native Americans, including human trafficking and killings.
According to the document, Las Vegas police have identified at least six alleged victims and uncovered sexual allegations against Chasing Horse from the early 2000s in multiple states, including Montana, South Dakota and Nevada, where he spent about a decade lived.
There was no attorney listed in Chasing Horse’s court records to comment on his behalf Tuesday night.
Chasing Horse was born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, home to the Sicangu Sioux, one of the seven tribes of the Lakota Nation.
According to the warrant, he was banned from the Fort Peck Reservation in Poplar, Montana, in 2015 amid allegations of human trafficking.
“Nathan Chasing Horse used spiritual traditions and their belief system as a tool to sexually assault young girls on numerous occasions,” it says, adding that his followers believed he could communicate with higher beings and referred to him as “Medicine Man” or “Holy Person.”
While the warrant includes details of crimes reported elsewhere, the arrest stems from crimes allegedly committed in Nevada’s Clark County. They include sex trafficking, sexual assault of a child under the age of 16, and child abuse.
According to the warrant, some of the alleged victims were as young as 13 years old. One of Chasing Horse’s wives is said to have been presented to him as a “gift” when she was 15, while another became a woman after she turned 16.
Chasing Horse is also accused of recording assaults and arranging sex with the victims for other men who allegedly paid him.