Trial begins in Las Vegas as prosecutors outline allegations
Prosecutors opened the trial of Nathan Chasing Horse on Tuesday in Las Vegas, saying the former actor used his reputation as a Lakota medicine man to prey on Indigenous women and girls and sexually assault them, while his defense attorney told jurors during opening statements that Chasing Horse is being falsely accused.
Chasing Horse, best known for portraying the character Smiles A Lot in the 1990 film “Dances With Wolves,” pleaded not guilty to 21 charges, including sexual assault and sexual assault of a minor. Clark County Deputy District Attorney Bianca Pucci described what she said prosecutors would prove, including that the allegations span years and involve more than one victim.
Case follows 2023 arrest and indictment
The trial marks the climax of what prosecutors described as a yearslong effort to bring charges against Chasing Horse after he was first arrested and indicted in 2023, a case that drew widespread attention in Indian Country. Prosecutors also tied the matter to broader concerns about violence against Native women, saying authorities have responded more in recent years to that violence.
In the courtroom, Chasing Horse sat quietly and took notes as his family sat in the back row of the crowded Las Vegas courtroom.
Prosecutors: medicine man reputation and alleged threats
Pucci told jurors that Chasing Horse was born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, home to the Sicangu Sioux, one of the seven tribes of the Lakota nation. Prosecutors also said he traveled around North America to perform healing ceremonies after starring in “Dances With Wolves.”
Pucci said prosecutors would present evidence related to two victims, who were 14 and 19 at the time of the alleged assaults. She said that in 2012, Chasing Horse told the 14-year-old that the spirits wanted her to give up her virginity to save her mother, who had been diagnosed with cancer. Pucci also said prosecutors will show that Chasing Horse then sexually assaulted the 14-year-old and told her that if she told anyone, her mother would die.
“She wanted to appease the spirits,” Pucci said, referring to the 14-year-old, and she added: “She wanted to appease the medicine man.”
Pucci said she planned to show jurors photos of Chasing Horse with the 14-year-old girl. She said the girl met Chasing Horse when she was 6 and viewed him as a grandfather, and she said the relationship included ceremonial roles in the Lakota community.
Alleged coercion described in evidence preview
Pucci said Chasing Horse was 36 at the time prosecutors said he assaulted the 14-year-old. She said he allegedly took the 14-year-old on a road trip to different ceremonies and repeatedly sexually assaulted her in hotel rooms. Pucci said he also had her get tattoos of a spider on her arms and hand to remind her not to tell anyone, and she said Chasing Horse has spider tattoos on his neck.
Pucci told jurors: “She had her ‘stuck in his web,’” describing the alleged pattern of control.
She also described how the family’s living arrangements allegedly changed over time, saying that the 14-year-old and her mother moved from California to North Las Vegas to live with Chasing Horse and his multiple wives, where she said the assaults continued. Pucci said that in 2014, when the victim was 16, she moved back in, and that at 18 she changed her last name to his, convinced, Pucci said, that Chasing Horse was doing good work and protecting her mother, who went into remission from cancer.
Defense says there is no evidence and calls the narrative false
Craig Mueller, Chasing Horse’s defense attorney, said prosecutors would present no evidence of the allegations, including no DNA evidence or eyewitnesses. Mueller compared the woman to an angry wife, saying she made false allegations and had lived happily with Chasing Horse for five years.
Mueller told jurors that prosecutors portrayed Chasing Horse as a monster despite what he said was his standing in the community. He showed photos, including a family portrait featuring Chasing Horse and his wives and photos of Chasing Horse at powwows, and he said: “Just like any family.”
“This isn’t some bizarre pedophile at large running around,” Mueller said.
Prosecutors preview video and a second victim’s testimony
Pucci said prosecutors will show a video to back up their allegations. She said jurors also would hear from another victim who was 19 when Chasing Horse allegedly sexually assaulted her.
Pucci said that, through ceremonies and long familiarity, the 19-year-old victim felt Chasing Horse was a protector, a medicine man, and part of the Lakota culture.