Sexual Abuse and Indigenous Communities

A Nevada jury in Las Vegas convicted former "Dances With Wolves" actor Nathan Chasing Horse on 13 of 21 counts tied to the sexual abuse of Indigenous women and girls, concluding a yearslong effort to hold him accountable after his 2023 arrest. Prosecutors said Chasing Horse, 49, exploited his reputation as a Lakota "medicine man" to groom and assault victims over nearly two decades, including a girl he began abusing at 14 after telling her that "spirits" demanded her virginity to save her cancer‑stricken mother. Jurors returned guilty verdicts on charges connected to three accusers and acquitted him on some later‑period counts involving one victim who lived with him as an adult, and the conviction carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison when he is sentenced March 11. Defense counsel argued the case lacked physical evidence or eyewitnesses and signaled plans to seek a new trial, but victims and advocates outside the courtroom called the verdict a long‑delayed measure of justice and a warning to others who use spiritual authority to abuse power. The case is drawing wide attention because it exposes patterns of hidden abuse in Indigenous communities and tests whether U.S. courts will credibly prosecute alleged "medicine men" and celebrity figures accused of targeting Native women and girls.