Nathan Chasing Horse Sentenced to Life for Sexual Assaults

A Nevada judge sentenced Nathan Chasing Horse, the former actor known for his role in the 1990 film Dances With Wolves, to life in prison with parole eligibility after 37 years on Monday for sexually assaulting Indigenous women and girls. The Clark County District Court ruling followed a January jury conviction on 13 charges, primarily related to sexual assault involving three victims, though he was acquitted on others.

Prosecutors argued that Chasing Horse, 49, exploited his reputation as a Lakota medicine man over nearly two decades to target vulnerable women and girls who sought his spiritual or healing ceremonies. Testimony from the three women described assaults that began after they participated in his rituals or approached him for help. One victim, Corena Leone-LaCroix, who was 14 in 2012, said Chasing Horse told her the spirits required her to give up her virginity to save her mother from cancer, then assaulted her and warned that disclosure would cause her mother's death. The abuse continued for years, according to prosecutors. Another victim, Siera Begaye, reported ongoing health complications from an ectopic pregnancy linked to the assaults that required surgery.