Opening statements begin in sex assault trial of 'Dances With Wolves' actor Nathan Chasing Horse

LAS VEGAS — Prosecutors say Nathan Chasing Horse used his reputation as a Lakota medicine man to prey on Indigenous women and girls and sexually assault them, while his defense attorney said during opening statements at his trial Tuesday that the former actor is being falsely accused.

Best known for portraying the character Smiles A Lot in the 1990 movie ''Dances With Wolves,'' Chasing Horse pleaded not guilty to 21 charges, including sexual assault and sexual assault of a minor.

The trial marks the climax of a yearslong effort to prosecute Chasing Horse after he was first arrested and indicted in 2023 in a case that sent shock waves through Indian Country. ''Dances With Wolves'' was one of the most prominent films featuring Native Americans when it premiered in 1990. His trial also comes as authorities have responded more in recent years to an epidemic of violence against Native women.

Wearing a blue tie and black suit with his hair pulled back, he sat quietly and took notes while his family sat in the back row of the crowded Las Vegas courtroom.

Chasing Horse was born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, which is home to the Sicangu Sioux, one of the seven tribes of the Lakota nation. After starring in the Oscar-winning film, Chasing Horse traveled around North America to perform healing ceremonies, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors said that Chasing Horse sexually assaulted two victims, who were 14 and 19 years old at the time. In 2012, he allegedly told the 14-year-old that the spirits wanted her to give up her virginity to save her mother, who was diagnosed with cancer. He then sexually assaulted her and told her if she told anyone, her mother would die, Clark County Deputy District Attorney Bianca Pucci said.

''She wanted to appease the spirits,'' she said, referring to the 14-year-old. ''She wanted to appease the medicine man.''

Pucci showed photos of Chasing Horse with the 14-year-old girl, who met Chasing Horse when she was 6 and played a respected role in Lakota ceremonies as a pipe girl. Chasing Horse had symbolically adopted her, and she viewed him as a grandfather, Pucci said.

Chasing Horse, who was 36 at the time, allegedly took the 14-year-old on a road trip to different ceremonies, Pucci said. He repeatedly sexually assaulted her in hotel rooms, and he had her get tattoos of a spider on her arms and hand to remind her not to tell anyone, Pucci said. Chasing Horse also has spider tattoos on his neck.

Chasing Horse had her ''stuck in his web,'' Pucci told jurors.

The 14-year-old and her mother moved from California to North Las Vegas to live with Chasing Horse and his multiple wives. There, Pucci said, Chasing Horse continued to sexually assault her before she and her family found another place to live.

In 2014, when she was 16, she moved back in with him and his wives. At 18, she changed her last name to his, convinced that Chasing Horse was doing good work and protecting her mom, who went into remission from cancer, Pucci said.

Prosecutors made Chasing Horse seem like a monster, when in reality, he is well-respected, Mueller said. He showed the jury pictures, including a family portrait with Chasing Horse and his wives, as well as photos of Chasing Horse at powwows. ''Just like any family,'' Mueller added.

''This isn't some bizarre pedophile at large running around," Mueller said.

Pucci said prosecutors will show the jury a video to back up their allegations.

She said jurors will also hear from another victim who was 19 when Chasing Horse allegedly sexually assaulted her. She also had known him since she was a child through ceremonies.

''She felt like he was a protector, a medicine man, part of the Lakota culture,'' Pucci said.