Dances With Wolves actor charged with child sex crimes out of Tsuut'ina Nation

Nathan Chasing Horse has been charged on both sides of the border — Fort Peck, Montana, Keremeos, B.C., and now out of Tsuut'ina Nation

Calgary Herald
Michael Rodriguez
June 13, 2023

The Tsuut’ina Nation Police Service says actor turned alleged cult leader Nathan Chasing Horse has been charged in relation to a litany of sex crimes locally — including multiple offences against children.

Police say nine warrants were issued for Chasing Horse’s arrest on Saturday. He’s facing four counts of sexual assault, four counts of sexual exploitation, one count of sexual interference with a person under the age of 16 years, and one count of removal of a child from Canada under the age of 16 years.

The announcement comes months after Chasing Horse was arrested and charged with several sex crimes in his North Las Vegas home at the end of January. Tsuut’ina police worked alongside detectives in Nevada on that case, for which criminal proceedings are ongoing. He’s since been charged on both sides of the border — Fort Peck, Montana, Keremeos, B.C., and now out of Tsuut’ina Nation — on similar charges.

Tsuut’ina police told reporters shortly after the Las Vegas charges that charges against Chasing Horse locally were in the pipeline and they expected more local victims to come forward, but have remained mum on the issue since February.

“(T)he prosecution of Nathan Chasing Horse in different legal jurisdictions has required significant planning and cooperation between prosecutors,” said the Tsuut’ina Nation Police Service in a news release Tuesday.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department detectives said in their January arrest report that Chasing Horse leveraged his position as a “medicine man” across multiple states and parts of Canada to sexually abuse a number of young Indigenous girls and, over two decades, acquired a number of so-called “wives” — one of whom was as young as 13. He’s also purported to have led a cult-like group entitled “The Circle,” where he was referred to as a “holy man.”

Tsuut’ina banned Chasing Horse in 2015

Tsuut’ina police have previously said Chasing Horse was banned from Tsuut’ina by the nation’s council in 2015, as he posed a threat to the “safety and well-being” of nation members. No specific reason has been given for the ban, but he did not face any charges locally at the time.

The local charges involve offences dating back as far as 2005, and Tsuut’ina police say their investigation spanned several years.

“We would like to extend our thanks and continued support to our victims that have come forward. This requires strength and bravery for those who have come forward to speak their truth,” said Tsuut’ina police. “It is time to begin to heal.”

Chasing Horse is best known for playing Sioux tribe member Smiles A Lot in the 1990 film Dances With Wolves, but according to his IMDB profile, he’s appeared in multiple smaller productions shot in southern Alberta. Chasing Horse was in a 2003 movie called DreamKeeper, shot partially in Standoff; a 2005 Drumheller-filmed series called Into the West; and Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, a 2007 film shot in Calgary.

Tsuut’ina police are expected to release further information about the local charges at a media availability Wednesday.

mrodriguez@postmedia.com

Twitter: @michaelrdrguez

https://calgaryherald.com/news/crime/dances-with-wolves-actor-charged-child-sex-crimes-tsuutina

 

CultNEWS101 Articles: 3/10/2023 (New Book, Recovery, Nathan Chasing Horse, Legal, Sexual Abuse, Religion in America)

New Book, Recovery, Nathan Chasing Horse, Legal, Sexual Abuse, Religion in America

Esther Friedman: The Gentle Souls Revolution: A Secret Cult, an Open Rebellion, and Lessons in Protecting and Honoring Your Gentle Soul

"Have you been told, "you're too sensitive" or "you think too much"? Do you wonder what is wrong with me? Nothing, according to The Gentle Souls Revolution.

After a five-year cultic misadventure in a secret "school," author Esther Friedman wrote her cautionary tale. Memoir led to research on narcissistic abuse and a recovery template for empaths. With humor and compassion, Friedman describes how the cult exploited her empathy. She interviews former members from other cults and includes research from leading experts. We learn that all cults and cons market false hope by leveraging human nature to profit from the vulnerable.

This revolution teaches Gentle Souls to self-protect by accepting the existence of—and learning to identify pathological selfishness. Recovery requires valuing your proclivities and protecting them like priceless gems. When you do that, those vulnerabilities can become your greatest strengths. That is The Gentle Souls Revolution."

AP: 'Dances With Wolves' actor indicted in Nevada sex abuse case

" ... Charges are mounting against a "Dances With Wolves" actor who is accused of sexually abusing and trafficking Indigenous women and girls in the U.S. and Canada for decades.

A grand jury in Nevada indicted Nathan Chasing Horse on [2/22/2023] on 19 counts, expanding on previous charges of sexual assault, trafficking and child abuse to include kidnapping, lewdness and drug trafficking. Chasing Horse, 46, now faces charges in four jurisdictions, with the newest case brought by prosecutors on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana.

Police in Las Vegas have described Chasing Horse as a cult leader who used his position as a self-proclaimed medicine man to gain access to Indigenous girls and women, who he physically and sexually assaulted and took as underage wives. Prosecutors also accused him of grooming young girls to replace his older wives. His followers in the cult known as The Circle believed he had healing powers and could communicate with higher beings.

Chasing Horse's public defender, Kristy Holston, told The Associated Press that she was looking forward to revealing holes in the state's case during a preliminary hearing that was canceled Wednesday morning ahead of the indictment. She declined to elaborate.

"Since the public is so interested in this case and because only select details of the accusations have been released, we think it would be most appropriate for the State to present their evidence in a public hearing where the defense can reveal the weaknesses of the State's case on the record in court," she said in an email.

Police in Las Vegas have described Chasing Horse as a cult leader who used his position as a medicine man to access to Indigenous girls, who he physically and sexually assaulted."

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Native American activists speak out against alleged cult leader

"A group of Native American activists plan to hold a rally this weekend in support of the alleged victims of Nathan Chasing Horse, an accused cult leader they say took advantage of their culture.

"There are people who are under the impression that he has nothing but support within our nation, from our state, from our region and from the whole Native American community across America," said Allison Renville, a political organizer and Lakota media consultant."

" ... Chasing Horse was known to travel to ceremonies on reservations throughout the western United States, according to the police report. In 2015, he was banished from the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, which is located in northwest Montana and is home to the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux tribes, after he was accused of human trafficking, spiritual abuse and intimidation of tribal members.

Simona Bearcub, a member of the Fort Peck tribes who also traveled to Las Vegas for the court hearings and rally, said Chasing Horse was well known in the communities surrounding Montana and South Dakota. She said many of his followers were women not from the reservations, who were looking to reconnect with their culture."

Religion News Service: How much do Americans know about the faiths around them?

"One of the truly unique features of the United States is it's incredibly diverse religious landscape. A county or region dominated by a single religious group is the exception, not the rule. Scholars have pointed to this religious competition as one of the reasons religion is still relatively robust in the U.S. compared with other industrialized societies, such as Western Europe.

It would behoove those of us living in the United States, then, to have a decent working knowledge of faith traditions beyond our own. But our religious diversity often comes at a cost: intolerance and infighting, often driven by mutual ignorance. As the writer Andrew Smith once wrote, "People fear what they don't understand."

There is also a gap between Americans' confidence in their grasp of the nuances of other religious traditions and their actual religious literacy, according to data from the Pew Research Center posted by the Association of Religion Data Archives.

Pew asked individuals to assess their level of knowledge about a variety of faith traditions, from different types of Christians (evangelical and mainline Protestants, Catholics and Mormons) to faith groups that make up a smaller portion of the population, such as Jews, Muslims and Buddhists."

NHK: Lawyers for former Jehovah's Witnesses followers allege child-abuse practices

"A team of lawyers lodged a complaint with Japan's health ministry in Tokyo on Monday [2/26/23] against the teachings of the Jehovah's Witnesses religious group. The complaint said the group's practices such as declining blood transfusions for their children could amount to child abuse.

The lawyers provide legal assistance to former followers of the group as well as to the children of group members.

About 100 people said in interviews with the team that they had been instructed by senior members of the religious group to refuse blood transfusions for their children.

Others said they were whipped by their Jehovah's Witness parents while growing up.

The lawyers say such practices may constitute child abuse.

Monday's action comes as the health ministry in December issued guidelines to municipalities stating that denying children necessary medical treatment, including blood transfusions, is neglect, a form of abuse.

The guidelines also state that resorting to such punishments as whipping a child constitutes physical abuse."

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Actor turned 'cult leader' was grooming young girls to replace his older wives: Nevada police

Nathan Chasing Horse has pleaded not guilty to 19 charges, including sexual assault, first-degree kidnapping and drug trafficking

Rio Yamat
National Post
The Associated Press
March 1, 2023

LAS VEGAS — A former “Dances With Wolves” actor pleaded not guilty Wednesday to state charges that he sexually abused Indigenous women and girls for a decade in Nevada.

Nathan Chasing Horse, 46, appeared briefly in Clark County District Court following his indictment last week on 19 charges, including sexual assault, first-degree kidnapping and drug trafficking.

He has been jailed in Las Vegas on $300,000 bond since his arrest Jan. 31 near the home in North Las Vegas that he shared with five women he described as his wives.

Authorities describe Chasing Horse as the leader of a cult known as The Circle who took underage wives. They allege that at the time of his arrest he was grooming young girls to replace his older wives.

Born on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, Chasing Horse is widely known for his role as Smiles a Lot in Kevin Costner’s 1990 Oscar-winning film.

His arrest by Las Vegas police followed a monthslong probe that officials said was prompted by a tip from Canadian authorities investigating Chasing Horse in connection with a 2018 rape allegation in British Columbia.

Authorities in Las Vegas allege that his crimes in Nevada spanned a decade. According to court documents, they also uncovered a pattern of sexual abuse dating back to the early 2000s across multiple states, including Montana and South Dakota, as well as Canada.

Documents show at least six victims have been identified, including one who said she was 13 when sexual abuse began, and another who said she was offered to Chasing Horse as a “gift” when she was 15.

Criminal cases against Chasing Horse are mounting, and he now faces charges in four jurisdictions — in state court in Las Vegas, in U.S. District Court in Nevada, in British Columbia and on the Fort Peck Reservation in northeastern Montana.

Inside Chasing Horse’s home, court documents say detectives found firearms, psilocybin mushrooms, 41 pounds of marijuana and two cellphones containing videos and photos of underage girls being sexually assaulted. The footage led to federal child pornography charges.

https://nationalpost.com/news/world/chasing-horse-pleads-not-guilty-in-nevada-sex-abuse-case

 

Native American activists speak out against alleged cult leader

Katelyn Newberg

Las Vegas Review-Journal
February 24, 2023

A group of Native American activists plan to hold a rally this weekend in support of the alleged victims of Nathan Chasing Horse, an accused cult leader they say took advantage of their culture.

“There are people who are under the impression that he has nothing but support within our nation, from our state, from our region and from the whole Native American community across America,” said Allison Renville, a political organizer and Lakota media consultant.

Renville drove to Las Vegas from South Dakota this week to attend a court hearing for Chasing Horse, who is accused of misusing his spiritual influence to operate a cult and sexually abuse Native American women and girls. The 46-year-old was indicted Wednesday on 19 felony charges, including sexual assault of a minor under 16, sex assault, open and gross lewdness, kidnapping and drug trafficking.

Renville and a group of about a dozen other Native American activists gathered in Las Vegas this week to combat the perception that Chasing Horse has a overwhelming number of supporters, Renville said. The rally is scheduled for noon Saturday at an event space located at 2650 S. Decatur Blvd. to raise money for domestic violence survivors and Chasing Horse’s alleged victims.

During recent court hearings in North Las Vegas, more than a dozen of Chasing Horse’s supporters have filed into court wearing traditional regalia or clothing items with Chasing Horse’s name. They have declined to speak with reporters.

Renville said that by speaking out against Chasing Horse, she wants other survivors of domestic violence to be comfortable coming forward, even if it breaks cultural taboos of speaking ill against others in their community.

“The more people that come forward, the more that we take it upon ourselves to speak up because we know it’s the right thing to do, we’re hoping that it encourages other people to speak up as well,” she said.

Prosecutors have said that at the height of Chasing Horse’s group, which they called “The Circle,” he had up to 350 followers. Renville said “The Circle” is a translation of a Lakota word that roughly means “prayer circle.”

Chasing Horse was arrested last month after police raided his North Las Vegas home where he has lived with up to six women he viewed as wives, according to a North Las Vegas Police Department arrest report. Multiple women told police they were groomed by Chasing Horse and were raped by him starting when they were teenagers.

He also faces charges in U.S. federal court, and warrants charging him with sexual assault have been issued by the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana and by Canadian authorities.

The arrest report identified Chasing Horse as a member of the Rosebud Sioux Indian Lakota Tribe, which is based in South Dakota. He portrayed himself as a “medicine man” who gained the trust of Indigenous families through Native traditions and spiritual ceremonies, police wrote in the report.

Chasing Horse was known to travel to ceremonies on reservations throughout the western United States, according to the police report. In 2015, he was banished from the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, which is located in northwest Montana and is home to the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux tribes, after he was accused of human trafficking, spiritual abuse and intimidation of tribal members.

Simona Bearcub, a member of the Fort Peck tribes who also traveled to Las Vegas for the court hearings and rally, said Chasing Horse was well known in the communities surrounding Montana and South Dakota. She said many of his followers were women not from the reservations, who were looking to reconnect with their culture.

“Had I been unlucky to run across him, I would have been an easy mark for him. Easy prey,” Bearcub said. “He could have harmed me and I wouldn’t have known any better. I would have been seeking my culture, seeking out healing, seeking out my people.”

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter

https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/courts/native-american-activists-speak-out-against-alleged-cult-leader-2734495/

‘Dances With Wolves’ actor indicted in Nevada sex abuse case

RIO YAMAT

Associated Press
February 22, 2023

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Charges are mounting against a “Dances With Wolves” actor who is accused of sexually abusing and trafficking Indigenous women and girls in the U.S. and Canada for decades.

A grand jury in Nevada indicted Nathan Chasing Horse on Wednesday on 19 counts, expanding on previous charges of sexual assault, trafficking and child abuse to include kidnapping, lewdness and drug trafficking. Chasing Horse, 46, now faces charges in four jurisdictions, with the newest case brought by prosecutors on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana.

Police in Las Vegas have described Chasing Horse as a cult leader who used his position as a self-proclaimed medicine man to gain access to Indigenous girls and women, who he physically and sexually assaulted and took as underage wives. Prosecutors also accused him of grooming young girls to replace his older wives. His followers in the cult known as The Circle believed he had healing powers and could communicate with higher beings.

Chasing Horse’s public defender, Kristy Holston, told The Associated Press that she was looking forward to revealing holes in the state’s case during a preliminary hearing that was canceled Wednesday morning ahead of the indictment. She declined to elaborate.

“Since the public is so interested in this case and because only select details of the accusations have been released, we think it would be most appropriate for the State to present their evidence in a public hearing where the defense can reveal the weaknesses of the State’s case on the record in court,” she said in an email.

Holston didn’t immediately respond Wednesday afternoon for comment on the additional charges filed against her client. An arraignment is scheduled March 1 in Clark County District Court.

Chasing Horse has declined multiple requests from the AP for an interview from the Las Vegas jail where he’s being held on a $300,000 bond.

Born on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, Chasing Horse is widely known for his role as Smiles a Lot in Kevin Costner’s 1990 Oscar-winning film, “Dances With Wolves.” He was arrested Jan. 31 near the North Las Vegas home he shared with his five wives.

Authorities searched the home and found firearms, psilocybin mushrooms, 41 pounds of marijuana and two cellphones containing videos and photos of underage girls being sexually assaulted, according to an arrest report.

The footage of the assaults led to federal child pornography charges in U.S. District Court in Nevada.

Chasing Horse’s arrest in Nevada was the culmination of a monthslong investigation by Las Vegas police. According to court documents, police uncovered a pattern of sexual abuse and alleged crimes dating back to the 2000s across multiple states, including Montana and South Dakota, as well as Canada, where he’s been charged with a 2018 rape in British Columbia.

Earlier this month, prosecutors with the Fort Peck Tribes in Montana charged Chasing Horse with one count of aggravated sexual assault in connection with a 2005 rape, according to a warrant obtained by the AP.

Ken Trottier, a tribal court criminal investigator, said Wednesday that two teenage girls at the time had accused Chasing Horse of rape. The investigation was closed, Trottier said, because the girls’ statements couldn’t be corroborated.

That changed after Chasing Horse was arrested in Nevada, Trottier said, with more evidence that allowed Fort Peck to pursue a criminal case.

It’s unlikely, though, that Chasing Horse will ever appear in tribal court, Trottier said. Tribal leaders banished him from the reservation nearly a decade ago amid allegations of human trafficking.

“We don’t ever expect him to return here,” Trottier told the AP. “If he ever steps foot on our reservation, he will be hunted.”

Trottier said Wednesday that he hopes federal prosecutors in Montana will step in, allowing for stiffer penalties if Chasing Horse is charged and convicted of any crime on the reservation — where federal authorities have concurrent jurisdiction when the victim and suspect are both Native American.

“I will probably never have the satisfaction of being able to put handcuffs on him,” Trottier said, “but at least we’re able to help the Las Vegas case and other investigations.”

https://www.8newsnow.com/news/national-news/ap-dances-with-wolves-actor-indicted-in-nevada-sex-abuse-case/