Chasing Horse in a Las Vegas court.
The allegations from the Las Vegas Arrest warrant show a disturbing look into the control the Dances With Wolves star had over Indigenous women.
Nathan Chasing Horse, 46, who also goes by Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse, was taken into custody Jan. 31 near the North Las Vegas home he shares with his five “wives.” Similar to other U.S. states, Nevada criminalizes bigamy, which is being married to more than one person at a time.
Investigators note that there is no marriage documentation for at least one of the “wives” and that Chasing Horse says he didn’t want documentation showing they were married.
Chasing Horse has been charged with eight felonies in Nevada, including sexual assault, sex trafficking and child abuse.
Authorities say the alleged crimes date back to the early 2000s and span multiple states, including South Dakota, Montana and Nevada, where Chasing Horse has lived for a decade.
A Nevada court set bail at $300,000 for the former actor. Information from the North Las Vegas Court website says if Nathan Chasing Horse can post bail, he could be released on house arrest and would be electronically monitored. He cannot have contact with the complainants or any minors.
The more than 60-page arrest warrant says at least two alleged victims cited are from the Tsuut’ina Nation, in southern Alberta, and another is from the B.C. village of Keremeos, where a further sexual-assault charge was laid against Chasing Horse this week by the RCMP. He has also been banned from several First Nations.
Chasing Horse initially had a public defender Michael Wilfong, but has since retained Alexandra Kazarian, a lawyer based in California.
Neither lawyer has responded to email requests for comment.
In a statement, Quannah Chasinghorse, a model, distanced herself from her father, saying she’s had minimal contact with him and was raised by her mother and stepfather, who died in 2017.
“I stand with the victims of Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse,” she says. “I honor the immense courage it takes for survivors to tell their stories, especially publicly.”
The charges in Nevada
In October 2022, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police (LVMP) received a complaint about a sexual assault suspect living in Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada.
The LVMP worked with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs on the case.
According to Clark County inmate records, Chasing Horse’s charges on Jan 31. were for possession of pornography of a person under 16, child abuse or neglect, one count of sexual assault, one count of sexual assault on a child under sixteen, and four counts of sex trafficking of an adult charges.
Chasing Horse was also charged with an unlawful act regarding a Bald or Golden. This is a federal crime based on The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act which says that you cannot take any part of a protected eagle without a permit issued by the Secretary of the Interior.
The warrant for his arrest says he has long been accused of sexual assault of Indigenous girls who are minors and that he abused his trust that he gained through his portrayal of himself as a “medicine man.”
The document further says that Chasing Horse used his position to lure vulnerable girls, often giving them a sense of belonging, and that his power and influence limited his victim’s ability to separate cultural significance or spiritual beliefs from the tools and tactics used by a sexual predator.
None of these claims have been tested in court.
Las Vegas police also believe that more victims will come forward. This has proven accurate as APTN previously reported there is pending charges in Alberta and British Columbia RCMP have announced a sexual assault charge.
Suspected cult leader
Chasing Horse is believed to be the leader of a cult known as The Circle with a strong following of people who believed he could communicate with higher powers, according to the arrest warrant.
Police say he abused his position, physically and sexually assaulting Indigenous girls and women, taking underage wives and leading the cult. He was arrested outside the home he shares with his five “wives” near Las Vegas.
The documents obtained include an interview from an Indigenous female whose name, age, and location is redacted. According to the interview the female lived with her mother, grandmother and aunt.
She told police that she was seen as an outsider in the community “due to her lack of native appearance”.
When she had a spider bite that would not heal she was put in touch with Chasing Horse and after a ritual that included burning herbs the wound healed. She became a devoted follower and joined “The Circle”.
The report notes grooming behaviour, such as giving expensive gifts and paying for family members rent.
He then used her concern for her mother to sexually assault her under the guise of her “offering her body to the spirits,” according to the document.
Two interviews within the report also indicate that one of the members of The Circle gifted her daughter, who was a minor, to Chasing Horse. She became his fourth “wife”.
Investigators also say that the “wives” were given potent marijuana oil regularly and instructed by Chasing Horse and allegedly told to take a pill to kill themselves in the event of his death or if law enforcement became involved with their family.
Chasing Horse also allegedly trained the women in the house to shoot firearms and says they would “shoot it out” if law enforcement attempted to take them into custody.
The report also says that Chasing Horse forced several of the wives to have an abortion and told them that “the spirits would not allow them to bear his children.”
His preliminary hearing is set for February 22, 2023.
