In the ever-unfolding legal drama within the shaded courtrooms of Nevada, a tantalizing new chapter unfurls as the state’s highest court, with all the solemnity of its cloistered chambers, agrees to lend an ear to the persistent appeals of Nathan Chasing Horse. The visage of the man in question, once framed by the camera as the native youth Smiles a Lot in the cinemascope of “Dances With Wolves,” now appears, stark and somber, within the confines of courtroom sketches.
As autumn leaves yield to the brisk chill of November, the Nevada Supreme Court, by the assent of a majority of its esteemed jurists, marked March 22 as the day it would entertain yet another entreaty from Chasing Horse’s indefatigable attorneys. Their cause: to quash the multitude of sex charges casting a long shadow over their client. Justices Elissa Cadish, Lidia Stiglich, Douglas Herndon, and Linda Bell aligned with granting this audience, over the objections of their colleagues on the bench, Justices Kristina Pickering, Patricia Lee, and Ron Parraguirre.
The battle, however, is no stranger to the stolid halls of justice; this petition skirts on the heels of two previous ones, both met with the cold shoulder of rejection. The prior, a split decision where Patricia Lee and Ron D. Parraguirre outvoted Douglas Herndon, who offered his solitary dissent.
Wrapped in the armor of legal advocacy is Clark County public defender Kristy Holston, who wields arguments of consent wielded by the women who leveled the grave accusations against Chasing Horse. Holston, in past proceedings, has volleyed critiques at prosecutors, deeming their methods — which included tutoring grand jury members on the definition of “grooming” and the alleged mishandling of information — as a misstep in the dance of law.
Imprisoned, yet steadfast in his plea of innocence, Chasing Horse languishes in the confines of the Clark County Detention Center, shouldering the weight of 18 counts. Among these, are six counts of sexual assault, 10 of assault against minors, kidnapping of a minor, and lewdness; with reprieve granted only by the dismissal of a singular drug count.
The narrative of his purported transgressions spans from 2014 to 2020, threading through the lives of Native American teens and women, who claim entanglement within a complex web Chasing Horse allegedly spun. Ren Leone, born Corena Chasing Horse, decries the onset of such abuses at the tender age of 14, painting a haunting portrait of grooming and a future consigned as a wife.
Allegations also extend to claims of exploiting the vulnerability of faith, as promises of healing powers were purported to be dealt to the mother of Leone, who battled the scourge of cancer.
Chasing Horse, heralded as a “medicine man,” found himself at the helm of “The Circle,” a group shrouded in the whispers of cultic practices. It was within this circle that he crossed paths with those who now gaze at him across courtrooms, separated by more than just the expanse of feet.
The man who once shared domicile with his plural wives in North Las Vegas now faces the austere walls of custody since his January 2023 capture. His liberty hangs upon the precipice of a $300,000 bail, as he stands before the court, voicing a staunch rebuttal to all charges laid before him.
Yet, the legal tangle sprawls beyond the borders of Nevada. Chasing Horse stares into the face of similar allegations and pending counts in the courts of Nevada’s federal district, stretching far to the northerly expanses of Montana and even reaching into Canada’s jurisdiction.
In the ironic twist of fate, the star that once rose to fame beside the legendary Kevin Costner now risks being eclipsed, as the real-life narrative of Nathan Chasing Horse unspools in a courtroom drama potentially more compelling than any Hollywood script could contrive.
