NORTH LAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas police on Tuesday arrested and raided the home of a former “Dances With Wolves” actor turned alleged cult leader accused of sexually assaulting Indigenous girls over a two-decade period, according to police records obtained by the Associated Press. .
Nathan Lee Chasing Horse, who goes by Nathan Lee’s Chasing Horse, was held in the afternoon near the North Las Vegas home he reportedly shares with his five wives. The SS officers were seen outside the two-storey house in the evening while investigators were searching the house.
Best known for his role as a smiling young Sioux tribe member in Kevin Costner’s Oscar-winning film, Chasing Horse gained fame among tribes across the United States and Canada as a medicine man who conducted healing ceremonies and spiritual assemblies and used his position to abuse Native American girls, police alleged.
His arrest is the culmination of a months-long investigation that began after police received a tip-off in October 2022. According to a 50-page search warrant obtained by the Associated Press, Chasing Horse is believed to be the leader of a cult known as The Circle.
It comes as state attorneys general and lawmakers across the United States look to create specialized units to handle cases involving Native women.
In South Dakota, the Attorney General’s Office It put a new focus on crimes against Native Americans, including human trafficking and murder.
According to the document, Las Vegas police have identified at least six alleged victims and disclosed sexual allegations against Chasing Horse dating back to the early 2000s in multiple states, including Montana, South Dakota and Nevada, where he lived for about ten years.
There was no attorney listed in court records for Chasing Horse who could comment on his behalf as of Tuesday evening.
Chasing Horse was born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, which is home to the Sicangu Sioux, one of the seven tribes of the Lakota Nation.
According to the arrest warrant, he was banished in 2015 from the Fort Peck reservation in Poplar, Montana, amid allegations of human trafficking.
“Nathan Chasing Horse has used spiritual traditions and their belief system as a tool to sexually abuse young girls on numerous occasions,” the text reads, adding that his followers believe he can communicate with higher beings and refer to him as a “medicine man” or “holy person.”
Although the warrant details crimes reported elsewhere, the arrest stems from crimes allegedly committed in Clark County, Nevada. They include sex trafficking, sexual abuse of a child under 16, and child abuse.
Some of the alleged victims were as young as 13, according to the note. It is alleged that one of Chasing Horse’s wives was offered to him as a “gift” when she was fifteen, while another became his wife after she turned sixteen.
Chasing Horse has also been accused of recording sexual assaults and arranging sex with the victims for other men who allegedly paid him.