Nathan Chasing Horse Life Sentence: What Are The Charges Against the Dances With Wolves Actor?

Nathan Chasing Horse has been sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison in Nevada, after a jury found the 'Dances With Wolves' actor guilty of sexually assaulting Indigenous women and girls over many years, including one who said the abuse began when she was 14.

The former child star, best known for playing Smiles a Lot in the Oscar‑winning film, received his life sentence on Monday from Judge Jessica Peterson in a Las Vegas court.

Chasing Horse told the court the outcome was 'a miscarriage of justice.'

Nathan Chasing Horse Life Sentence And The Nevada Charges

At Monday's sentencing, Nathan Chasing Horse appeared in a navy blue Clark County Detention Center uniform and stared straight ahead as his accusers and their relatives addressed the court.

They told Judge Jessica Peterson they were still living with the trauma of what had been done to them and spoke about how their faith and spiritual lives had been shattered after trusting him as a healer and ceremonial leader.

Despite the guilty verdicts, Chasing Horse continued to insist he had been wronged. 'This is a miscarriage of justice,' he told the judge, maintaining his denial of the allegations.

His legal team had already tried to secure a new trial, arguing that a witness was not properly qualified to testify about grooming and that some charges should have been barred by time limits, but that application was rejected.

Deputy district attorney Bianca Pucci told jurors during the trial that, for almost two decades, Chasing Horse 'spun a web of abuse' around women and girls who came to him seeking spiritual guidance or healing.

In several instances, victims said they first met him at powwows or ceremonies, or sought him out for help with medical issues, only to be drawn into situations where he used spiritual language and authority to coerce them.

What Victims Told The Court About Nathan Chasing Horse

The most detailed testimony came from three women who said Nathan Chasing Horse sexually assaulted them, with the jury delivering guilty verdicts tied to each of their accounts. One of them, Corena Leone‑LaCroix, has chosen to be publicly identified and described in court how the abuse began when she was 14 in 2012.

According to Pucci's summary to the court, Leone‑LaCroix was told by Chasing Horse that 'the spirits' wanted her to give up her virginity in order to save her mother, who had been diagnosed with cancer. She said he then sexually assaulted her and warned that if she told anyone, her mother would die. Pucci told jurors the assaults continued for years.

In her own words to the court, Leone‑LaCroix spoke about the scale of what had been taken from her, saying there was 'no way to get back the youth, the childhood loss, my first time, my first kiss, the graduation I never got to have.'

Other victims and their families echoed that sense of permanent loss. Mothers of some of the women said Chasing Horse had destroyed trust within their communities and 'abused sacred traditions.'

One victim told the court she still suffers medical complications after an ectopic pregnancy linked to the assault and the surgery that followed.

Yet there was also a note of defiance. 'I am choosing to see this moment as a fresh start,' one woman said. 'I will rebuild my life, reclaim my voice and continue fighting for the future I deserve.'

How Nathan Chasing Horse Used Fame And Spiritual Status

Nathan Chasing Horse's path to becoming a so‑called spiritual figure began long before the criminal charges.

Born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, home to the Sicangu Sioux, he gained early fame as a teenager by playing a young Sioux tribe member in Dances With Wolves. That role opened doors across Indian Country, where he travelled to powwows, led ceremonies and presented himself as a medicine man.

Nevada prosecutors said it was this combination of Hollywood notoriety and spiritual authority that allowed him to target vulnerable people. Women described how the community status attached to his ceremonies and healings made it difficult to question his behaviour or to speak out when they began to feel unsafe.

Dr Crystal Lee, chief executive and founder of United Natives, which supports victims of sexual abuse, said after the sentencing that the case underscored how dangerous it can be when high‑profile figures are placed beyond scrutiny.

She argued that holding perpetrators like Nathan Chasing Horse to account is vital both for victims' healing and for restoring trust in traditions that have been misused.

Pending Charges Against Nathan Chasing Horse In Canada

Monday's life sentence does not end Nathan Chasing Horse's legal problems. Authorities in Canada still have active cases linked to his alleged conduct there, and those proceedings remain in limbo until his appeals in the United States are exhausted.

The British Columbia Prosecution Service confirmed that Chasing Horse was charged with sexual assault in February 2023 over an offence alleged to have taken place in September 2018 near Keremeos, a small community around four hours east of Vancouver. That case was paused later in 2023 because of the Nevada prosecution, but resumed the following year.

A separate warrant remains outstanding in Alberta. The Tsuut'ina Nation Police Service has said it is working with the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service on next steps, pending the outcome of the US appeals process.

For now, Nathan Chasing Horse faces life behind bars on the Nevada convictions.

The life term follows a years‑long investigation that began with Chasing Horse's arrest and indictment in 2023. Prosecutors in Nevada brought 21 charges in total, centred largely on allegations that he exploited his standing as a spiritual leader and Lakota medicine man to abuse girls and young women.

A jury ultimately convicted him on 13 counts, most of them sexual assault charges, while acquitting him on others.