In Alberta, Canada, Nathan Chasing Horse has been charged with fresh sex offences.
He remains in Las Vegas jail awaiting trial in a sexual abuse case that has helped police in two nations confirm long-standing claims against him.
At a virtual press conference on Wednesday, Tsuut’ina Nation Police Service Sgt. Nancy Farmer recognized that the Alberta case is significant.
At the end of the day, it is important for us to have these warrants in the system so our victims know they’ve been heard
Chasing Horse, who faces decades in prison in the Las Vegas case and criminal prosecution in five nations, may never return to Canada to address these allegations.
“At the end of the day, we need these warrants in the system so our victims know they’ve been heard,” Sgt Farmer said.
“It’s crucial we keep supporting them.”
Kristy Holston, Chasing Horse’s Las Vegas public defender, declined comment on the additional accusations. Chasing Horse’s Canadian lawyer was unknown.
Farmer said Chasing Horse, 47, faces nine Alberta crimes, including three sexual exploitation and four sexual assault. She stated their crimes began in 2005.
Chasing Horse was born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, home of the Sicangu Sioux, one of seven Lakota tribes. He’s famous for playing Smiles a Lot in Kevin Costner’s Oscar-winning picture.
After acting in the 1990 film, Chasing Horse became known among US and Canadian tribes as a self-proclaimed medicine man who could connect with higher powers.
In the early 2000s, Las Vegas police and prosecutors accused him of leading a cult, exploiting vulnerable Indigenous women and girls, and taking underage wives.
In Las Vegas, he faces 18 crimes for child abuse, sexual assault, and kidnapping. He faces criminal charges in Keremeos, British Columbia, the US District Court in Nevada, and the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana.
Chasing Horse’s plea to the Nevada Supreme Court to overturn his indictment has halted Las Vegas court proceedings.
In legal pleadings, Chasing Horse and his public attorneys argued his accusers desired sex. Chasing Horse allegedly abused a 16-year-old girl in Nevada.