Nathan Chasing Horse, the actor known for his role in the Oscar-winning film Dances With Wolves, has been sentenced to at least 25 years in prison after being convicted of sexually abusing Indigenous women and girls. The sentencing, which took place in a Nevada court, brings to an end a case that deeply affected Native American communities across the United States.
A Nevada jury found Chasing Horse guilty on 13 of the 21 charges brought against him, many of which involved a victim who was 14 years old when the abuse began. The jury cleared him of several other sexual assault counts. Chasing Horse has denied all accusations. Under the minimum penalty, he faces at least two decades behind bars.
After his role as Smiles a Lot in Kevin Costner’s film, Chasing Horse, born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, travelled across Indian Country attending powwows and conducting healing ceremonies. Several victims said they participated in those ceremonies or sought medical assistance from him. The central accuser stated she was 14 in 2012 when Chasing Horse allegedly claimed spirits required her to give up her virginity to save her mother, who had cancer. He then assaulted her and warned that if she told anyone, her mother would die, according to deputy district attorney Bianca Pucci. The abuse continued for years.
After the verdict, Chasing Horse’s lawyer requested a new trial, arguing a witness lacked qualifications and that the legal time limit had passed. The judge rejected the request. The case began in 2023 and prompted authorities in other states and Canada to pursue additional allegations. Chasing Horse was also charged with sexual assault in British Columbia relating to an incident near Keremeos in 2018. Proceedings there were paused while the US case moved forward. He has also been banned from the Tsuut’ina Nation in Alberta, where a warrant has been issued for his arrest on multiple charges of sexual exploitation and sexual assault.
In 2015, leaders of the Fort Peck tribe in Montana prohibited Chasing Horse from performing ceremonies on their reservation following allegations including human trafficking and drug dealing. More than four out of five American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence, and more than half have been victims of sexual violence, according to the National Institute of Justice.
