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‘Dances With Wolves’ actor Nathan Chasing Horse arrested for sex abuse, accused of running cult

By
Allie Griffin
Published Feb. 1, 2023
Updated Feb. 1, 2023, 9:53 a.m. ET
‘Dances With Wolves’ actor Nathan Chasing Horse arrested for sex abuse, accused of running cult
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A former actor accused of running a sex cult was arrested by Las Vegas police Tuesday for allegedly sexually assaulting Indigenous girls as young as 13 for roughly two decades, police records show.

“Dances With Wolves” actor Nathan Chasing Horse, 46, was taken into police custody after SWAT officers raided his north Vegas home, where he reportedly lives with his five wives.

Chasing Horse, whose full name is Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse, is the apparent leader of a cult called “The Circle” and has been charged with sex trafficking, sexual assault of a child younger than 16, and child abuse, according to the arrest warrant.

The former actor, known for his role as the young Sioux tribe member Smiles a Lot in the 1990 Kevin Costner film, was arrested after a months-long investigation spurred by a tip police received in October 2022.

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Nathan Chasing Horse, Kevin Costner
Nathan Chasing Horse alongside Kevin Costner in 1990’s “Dances with Wolves.” MGM
Nathan Chasing Horse in "Dances With Wolves"
The former actor was in the 1990 Kevin Costner film “Dances With Wolves.”MGM
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Nathan Chasing Horse in "Dances With Wolves"
Chasing Horse played a young Sioux tribe member named Smiles a Lot.MGM
Bull scene in "Dances With Wolves"
Chasing Horse was featured in a scene with a charging bull. MGM
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Chasing Horse has allegedly abused at least six victims, investigators found, according to a 50-page search warrant obtained by the Associated Press.

The sexual abuse accusations against the accused cult leader date back to the early 2000s and span multiple states, including Montana, his home state of South Dakota, and Nevada — where he has lived for the past 10 years.

Chasing Horse — a member of the Sicangu Sioux tribe of the Lakota nation — attracted followers across tribes in the US and Canada who believed he was a “Medicine Man” and “Holy Person” who could communicate with higher beings and perform healing ceremonies, according to the warrant.

Nathan Chasing Horse
Chasing Horse is accused of sexually assaulting Indigenous girls as young as 13 for roughly two decades. Denver Post via Getty Images

“Nathan Chasing Horse used spiritual traditions and their belief system as a tool to sexually assault young girls on numerous occasions,” the document states.

Followers of The Circle cult offered their young daughters to Chasing Horse to take as wives. One girl was allegedly offered as a “gift” to him when she was 15 years old and another married him when she turned 16.

He was reportedly banished from the Fort Peck Reservation in Poplar, Montana, in 2015 amid allegations of human trafficking, the warrant reports.

A Las Vegas police officer stands near the home of former actor Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse on Jan. 31, 2023, in North Las Vegas, Nev.
A Las Vegas police officer stands near the home of former actor Nathan Chasing Horse on Jan. 31, 2023, in North Las Vegas, Nev. AP
Las Vegas police work near the home of former actor Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse on Jan. 31, 2023, in North Las Vegas, Nev.
Chasing Horse has been accused of prostituting young Indigenous girls by offering them for sex with other men who allegedly paid him. AP

He has been accused of prostituting young Indigenous girls by offering them for sex with other men who allegedly paid him.

The youngest of his alleged victims was just 13 years old.

The warrant also states that Chasing Horse allegedly recorded his sexual assaults with his victims.

The former actor’s arrest comes as prosecutors and lawmakers across the country have begun to pay greater attention to crimes against Indigenous women, including human trafficking and murder.

With Post wires