He used spiritual traditions as a tool to sexually assault young girls
In late January, Nathan Chasing Horse — once known to audiences as a young Sioux warrior on screen — was arrested at his Las Vegas home on charges of sex trafficking and the sexual abuse of Indigenous girls as young as 13. Over roughly two decades, he allegedly constructed a spiritual authority around himself, using the sacred language of healing and tradition as a mechanism of coercion and exploitation. His case arrives as a broader reckoning takes shape across the United States, one that asks how predation can persist for so long when it is cloaked in the very symbols a community holds dear.
- A SWAT team executed a search warrant at Chasing Horse's north Las Vegas home, where he was found living with five women he called wives — the visible surface of an alleged operation built over twenty years.
- Investigators uncovered a pattern of abuse crossing Montana, South Dakota, and Nevada, with at least six Indigenous victims, some as young as 13, coerced into marriages and prostituted to other men.
- Chasing Horse allegedly weaponized Indigenous spiritual tradition, presenting himself as a Medicine Man with divine access, persuading families to offer their own daughters to him as gifts.
- Despite being formally banished from the Fort Peck Reservation in 2015 over trafficking allegations, he simply moved to Nevada and continued — a detail that underscores how institutional gaps allowed the harm to compound.
- His arrest now sits within a growing national effort to confront the epidemic of violence against Indigenous women, giving prosecutors and advocates a case that documents the machinery of exploitation in rare and damning detail.
Nathan Chasing Horse, who appeared as a young Sioux warrior in the 1990 film "Dances With Wolves," was taken into custody at his north Las Vegas home in late January after SWAT officers executed a search warrant. The 46-year-old faces charges of sex trafficking, sexual assault of children under 16, and child abuse. Police found him living with five wives.
The investigation began in October 2022 with a tip, and what followed was the unraveling of an alleged operation spanning nearly two decades. A 50-page search warrant obtained by the Associated Press describes abuse crossing Montana, South Dakota, and Nevada, with at least six Indigenous victims. At the center of the case is an organization called "The Circle," which Chasing Horse allegedly led by presenting himself as a Medicine Man and Holy Person capable of communicating with spiritual beings. He performed healing ceremonies that drew followers across the United States and Canada — and then, according to investigators, used that sacred trust to sexually assault young girls.
Followers reportedly offered their own daughters to him as wives. One girl was allegedly given to him as a gift at 15; another married him at 16; the youngest victims were 13. He is also accused of prostituting these girls to other men and recording the assaults.
In 2015, Chasing Horse was banished from the Fort Peck Reservation in Montana following human trafficking allegations. He relocated to Nevada and continued for years before law enforcement moved on him. His arrest comes as prosecutors and lawmakers across the country have begun directing sustained attention to crimes against Indigenous women — and his case, with its documented scale and its exploitation of spiritual authority, stands as a stark illustration of what that attention is meant to confront.
Nathan Chasing Horse, the actor who played a young Sioux warrior in the 1990 film "Dances With Wolves," was arrested in his north Las Vegas home on a Tuesday in late January after SWAT officers executed a search warrant. The 46-year-old was taken into custody on charges of sex trafficking, sexual assault of children under 16, and child abuse. Police records indicate he had been living in the house with five wives.
The investigation that led to his arrest began months earlier, in October 2022, when police received a tip. What emerged over the following months was an account of systematic abuse spanning roughly two decades. Chasing Horse, whose full name is Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse, is a member of the Sicangu Sioux tribe of the Lakota nation. Investigators found evidence that he had sexually assaulted at least six victims, according to a 50-page search warrant obtained by the Associated Press. The abuse allegations date to the early 2000s and cross state lines—Montana, South Dakota, and Nevada, where he had lived for the past decade.
At the center of the case is an organization Chasing Horse allegedly led called "The Circle." According to the warrant, he cultivated a following among Indigenous people across the United States and Canada by presenting himself as a "Medicine Man" and "Holy Person" with the ability to communicate with higher spiritual beings. He performed healing ceremonies that drew believers. The document states plainly: "Nathan Chasing Horse used spiritual traditions and their belief system as a tool to sexually assault young girls on numerous occasions."
Followers of The Circle offered their own daughters to Chasing Horse as wives. One girl was allegedly given to him as a "gift" when she was 15 years old. Another married him at 16. The youngest victims were just 13. Beyond the marriages, he allegedly prostituted these young Indigenous girls by offering them for sex to other men who paid him. The warrant also indicates that Chasing Horse recorded his sexual assaults with his victims.
In 2015, Chasing Horse was banished from the Fort Peck Reservation in Poplar, Montana following allegations of human trafficking. He did not stop his activities. Instead, he relocated to Nevada, where he continued for years before the October 2022 tip set law enforcement in motion.
The arrest arrives at a moment when prosecutors and lawmakers across the country have begun directing sustained attention toward crimes against Indigenous women—a category that includes human trafficking, sexual assault, and murder. Chasing Horse's case, with its documented pattern of exploitation spanning two decades and multiple states, exemplifies the scale and persistence of the problem that advocates have long documented. The investigation revealed not an isolated incident but a systematic operation built on spiritual manipulation and family coercion, targeting the most vulnerable members of Indigenous communities.
Notable Quotes
Nathan Chasing Horse used spiritual traditions and their belief system as a tool to sexually assault young girls on numerous occasions.— Search warrant document
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
How did someone with a public film role manage to operate this way for so long without detection?
He wasn't operating in the public eye. He built authority within closed Indigenous communities by claiming spiritual power. That's the mechanism—he wasn't a celebrity using fame. He was a spiritual figure using belief.
The five wives living in the same house—was that part of the public record, or something discovered during the raid?
It came out during the investigation. That's the visible structure of it. But the real architecture was invisible—the network of families who believed he had healing power and offered their daughters to him.
Why did it take a tip in October 2022 to trigger an investigation that had been going on for two decades?
Because the victims were isolated. They were embedded in a system that told them this was spiritual, that it was an honor. A tip from someone outside that system—someone who saw it differently—broke the silence.
The warrant mentions recordings. What does that detail tell you?
It suggests premeditation. Not impulse. He documented what he did. That's a different kind of evidence, and it's harder to deny.
He was banished from Fort Peck in 2015 but continued in Nevada. Did anyone track him?
Not effectively. He moved across state lines. Reservations have limited jurisdiction. He found a place where no one knew his history, and he rebuilt.
What changes now that he's arrested?
The case becomes visible. The pattern becomes evidence. And other victims may come forward knowing they're not alone.