Hold My Sweet Tea
Where True Crime collides with chilling ghost stories and Southern folklore. Join us, sip sweet tea, and uncover shocking tales of murder, mystery, and the supernatural, all with a healthy dose of Southern charm and a touch of sass!
Hold My Sweet Tea
Ep. 115-When A Healer Becomes A Predator: Nathan Chasing Horse
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Las Vegas hits different when the headline isn’t a party, it’s a predator hiding behind “healing.” We’re Pearl and Holly, and we’re breaking down the Nathan Chasing Horse case: a man prosecutors say used a Lakota medicine man persona, public appearances, and a tight inner circle to exploit Indigenous women and girls for years.
We talk through what the Nevada jury conviction actually included, why some counts carry the possibility of life sentences, and how the case stretches beyond one state with other allegations and warrants in places like Montana and Canada. We also dig into the part that makes this story especially disturbing: the way cult-like coercive control can be disguised as spirituality. When someone promises protection, connection, and medical “miracles,” it can pull in people who are grieving, sick, isolated, or searching for identity and community.
From Melissa’s search for her Lakota roots to Ren’s abuse being framed as a “life for a life” exchange, we focus on the mechanics of grooming, fear-mongering, and spiritual abuse. We also zoom out to the larger crisis: violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women is pervasive, often overlooked, and made worse when accountability breaks down inside systems meant to keep people safe.
If you care about true crime with context, survivor-centered reporting, and the real-world warning signs of cult leaders and spiritual fraud, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review, then tell us: what red flags do you think communities miss most often?
Summer Stress And Host Catch-Up
SPEAKER_00We are going to Las Vegas, the city of sin. Unfortunately, not for fun. And some sinners are worse than others. This is Hold My Sweet Tea. I'm Pearl.
SPEAKER_01And I'm Holly.
SPEAKER_00But to all you should. Am I? Are you sure? I think so. I'm not I don't know who I am either. We're getting to that part of our job where things get crazy.
SPEAKER_01A little hazy.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So my ADHD is like full throttle, and I'm having to wrangle cats inside my head trying to make sure I get everything done before the circus begins. And this summer circus.
SPEAKER_01Last week was just a really wild week. And it it's I blame it on the Aries energy because I was a raging damn bitch last week. I was like, I'm so sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me.
SPEAKER_00I'm like, it's whatever. I'm used to it. I just roll with it. That's why the one time you got a little snippy with me, I was like, let me finish.
SPEAKER_01I'm like, am I a raging bitch all the time? No.
SPEAKER_00No. No. I just know uh there are pop-in moments, and I fully expect them when we get around summer. I think summer brings it out even if even if it has nothing to do with Aries.
SPEAKER_01No, it's I am very like calm and you know, just the vibe on the outside. I I don't show my emotion at all, except my distaste for people on my face. But yeah, it seeps out occasionally. So then, you know, I have to like wrangle it in because I can't hold it in as much.
SPEAKER_00Or the moments where she's stressed out and she says my name. We don't usually say each other's name, we just talk. Right. Okay, Pearl. Then I go, all right now. Right? Don't make me smack you okay. Calm down. Right. It's optional. Exactly, exactly. I just I just let it roll though. I'm I'm so flexible when it comes to stuff like that with certain people.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Other people you're like, no, I'm gonna hit you. That shit ain't riding. So you bet you better hope you're on my good list of of people that I'll I'll take it from, and then there's people that won't. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I'm the same way. I I really am. Um it just some of it seeps out occasionally, but for the most part, I'm okay. But last week I don't know what was going on.
SPEAKER_00Last week was just a week. Yep. Everything was everywhere, baby stuff was happening.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, but he's so cute.
SPEAKER_00He is so cute, and he's cluster feeding, and he's pissed off.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah. That's that Aries energy right now. Pretty much all the time. He's just mad. He's mad.
SPEAKER_00He makes grumpy face really well.
SPEAKER_01Mm-hmm. He does. He has the most expressive little features, even when he's sleeping. Mm-hmm. I'm like, what you thinking about there, boy?
SPEAKER_00It's like I'm thinking about how earlier I was trying to eat more, and mom put me to sleep.
SPEAKER_01Right. Would let me now I'm mad. I'm gonna tell her when I get up. Right. All about it.
SPEAKER_00And then he does.
SPEAKER_01Yep.
SPEAKER_00An hour later. I'm still hungry. And I always think it's really funny too when he cries and he's like in like full throttle cry. He goes, Ma! And I was like, Look, it's your fault.
SPEAKER_01Yep, he's already saying ma. That's right. That is right. They always mad at their mama.
Vegas Heat And Dark Setup
SPEAKER_00You know, it's always our fault. Even though we're like the whole reason you're alive. Exactly. Saying. So we're going to Vegas today? Yeah, I know it's not the South, but it's still hot.
unknownOh God.
SPEAKER_01It's like smack you in the face like you open an oven hot.
SPEAKER_00Yes, it is.
SPEAKER_01Cooking people hot.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. We are not like going into a story about people getting cooked, though. Okay. Okay. I just want to clear that up. I don't want to get anyone excited about that. That's not what's happening. All right. So remember, we talked about Louisiana and all their castration law and you know, all the child molesters. I did, by the way, watch the um, which one was that? The false prophet. Yes. That one. I watched that one. I have not watched the other one yet, but I did watch that one. Yes. So it's it's insanity.
SPEAKER_01Oh my gosh. Yeah, like how can people literally sit there and go, yep, this is the way to go. This this is what I'm doing, and then watch it crumble around them and still stay there.
Introducing Nathan Chasing Horse
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and then actually go to jail over this stuff and still come out like, yeah, uh, what is wrong with you? So we're um we're gonna talk about Nathan chasing horse or Nathan chasing his horse. It's remember I brought him up that's right in the last little thing. So I wanted to make sure that I made good on my promise to talk about it since I was like, we'll go more into that on a whole separate episode. But there's a lot. And then the court like dismissed all of it because of some dumb stuff, which we'll talk about shortly. But I was like, I was I was really worried because I had followed a lot of this stuff that he was just gonna that was gonna be it, he was gonna get away with it, but a grand jury indicted him again.
SPEAKER_01Oh, well that's good.
SPEAKER_00So thank goodness for that. Yeah, because y'all indigenous women have it bad, oh yeah, as it were. Mm-hmm. And to have to fear people in your own community like that, like not just people outside the reservation coming and doing bad things to them, people right there that are supposed to be protecting them. I mean, happens everywhere at this point. I mean, it happens in everyone's house. So why would this be any different?
Conviction Details And Wider Charges
SPEAKER_01And also the reservation, like they have their own police force. They do. Which is insane that they're not taking up for their people. Right.
SPEAKER_00Well, in January, we're gonna kind of start from the end and work our way backwards. In January, a Nevada jury convicted Nathan Chasing Horse of sexually assaulting indigenous women and girls. He actually was found guilty of 13 of 21 charges that he was facing. Most of those guilty verdicts centered around a specific victim who was actually 14 years old when he began assaulting her. He was acquitted of some sexual assault charges when the main victim was older and had lived with him and his other companions. By this I mean he also had several wives, or wives, I say in quotations, because you can't marry more than one person. Yeah. But entered into some kind of like, you know, yes, wife wifey cult, wifey cult, yeah, type thing. So he is 49 years old. His sentencing was supposed to be scheduled for March 11th, it got moved to April 27th because he did try to get all this appealed. Like, I want to have these verdicts evacuated. Well, no, that's not gonna happen. No, so it did not. He tried, it did not, but it's good to note that he's also charged with other sex crimes in other states and even in Canada. What?
SPEAKER_01Yes, so he's just all over the place doing stuff.
The Circle And Spiritual Control
Melissa’s Search For Healing
SPEAKER_00British Columbia prosecutors actually suspended their case in 2023 because of the case in the United States. So they were like, Well, I guess we're gonna take a back seat and let you deal. So that verdict was like the the climax of several years long of effort to prosecute this man. He was very first arrested and indicted in 2023, like we talked about. But like I said, that didn't go through because of something to do with prosecution, which I have that written in here later. They said that Nathan Chasing horse used his reputation as a Lakota medicine man to prey on indigenous women and girls. So let's let's talk about that stuff. So I told you guys in my last episode that he had been in dances with wolves. And he had actually um he was a child during that time himself. But I want to get into some of the victims, and we're not gonna touch on all of them, but we're gonna touch on the important one, especially since so many of those charges were wrapped around the younger girl. Right. So we're gonna start with this younger girl's mother. In 1996, Melissa is her name, she had found out that she was a descendant of the Lakota tribe. So she had been adopted out, but she really wanted to connect with, you know, the Native American tribe that she was a part of. She said, quote, I was grabbing a hold of any and all connections that felt good or safe. And she thought she had found that when a relative of hers had actually recommended that she talk to this self-proclaimed medicine man, Nathan Chasing Horse. He had traveled North America during his adulthood performing healing ceremonies. And in 2005, Melissa, who also had a seven-year-old daughter, attended one of these rituals. And she said that she witnessed chasing horse connecting with ancestral spirits. She said it was like he turned the lights on in a dark room. It all just felt like she belonged there.
SPEAKER_01He was very charming. Right, made her feel feel very good.
SPEAKER_00Like so she felt safe and comfortable and like this is exactly what she was looking for. So eventually she would become part of Chasing Horses Group, which is called the Circle, and she would attend healing ceremonies and had gone into remission several times because she was diagnosed repeatedly having had cancer. Yeah. And so she attributed some of this healing, obviously, to these rituals.
SPEAKER_01She's like, this is fantastic.
SPEAKER_00Yes. She literally said he could say, ask, or do anything, and there was no wrong. But that's also where everything went bad. That belief that he actually had healing powers that he gained via ancestral spiritual contact is what helped make it easy for him to prey on people. It allowed him to sexually abuse minors, including Melissa's daughter. And I j I just thought that that was crazy. Yeah. And you know, they were saying, you know, like he seems to have operated like a cult. And there was a lot of under-reported sexual and violent exploitation of Native American women. Melissa and others say that this indictment is more than him just facing justice for his alleged sexual abuse. This shows his behavior of the of sexually abusing people, manipulating adults, and like just bringing to light a much larger problem of people who are in higher positions taking advantage of those that they see are beneath them. Yeah. They gain that so anyone he's offered to heal, and like it even brings to light even more that police aren't doing enough to stop these things from happening. So Melissa says, quote, this is about medicine people and all Indian country exploiting their people under the guise of spirituality. That must end.
SPEAKER_01So it's like he felt entitled to the world. Right, like he should be allowed to be this great healer's guy.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yep.
SPEAKER_01No, sir.
SPEAKER_00Now keep in mind, he has spoken at powwows around the country. Like there's websites for places that he's been and talked and all of that with his picture still up. And I I mean, if I were those places, I'd be taking it down at this point. But, you know, at a 2013 Fort Mojave tribe gathering, chasing horse had actually shared with the circle how doctors had diagnosed his own mother with terminal throat cancer and told the family that they should get, you know, prepare, say your goodbyes. She's not going to be here very long. This is terminal, you know, stage four, end of life. Y'all, you know, make final preparations. But he says they they then held a ceremony during which a messenger in that ceremony told her she would live. It is said that when she returned to her doctors, she was showing that she was cancer free. So this is he's using this as an example, saying, you know, this is how this works. My own mother was supposed to die from cancer and killed her, yeah. Yes. So he explains to them how ceremonial whistles, healing powers, work. Chasing horse quote says, the purpose of blowing this whistle is you're going to give a part of your life to that person you're blowing for. So be sure that you mean it because your life will be shortened a few years. If you don't do it from your heart, maybe they'll took they'll take your whole life. That's the exchange. So in order for these people to gain healing, he's saying you're giving part of what you would have lived in order to make them better. They can live longer. And in some cases, if you don't do this right, you could you could just be taken completely in place of them. These are the kind of spheres that he consistently pushed into his followers, like trying to make them afraid so he could have more control. There's a man named Fernando, who from 2006 until 2014 was also part of this circle, and he says that like at its peak, 300 members. 300 people followed him.
SPEAKER_01Because he's a medicine man healer, yeah.
SPEAKER_00He felt, you know, singled out and kind of special because Chasing Horse asks him to travel with him.
SPEAKER_01Because no, this is a good guy.
SPEAKER_00And Fernando could sing, and he really he really liked that about him. And Fernando said, you know, I really felt honored that I got to know somebody like that and got to be asked to do this thing. But then he says he starts seeing how chasing horse would womanize and convince people to give him their money.
SPEAKER_01Con artist.
SPEAKER_00Right. So Fernando says, quote, let's say you need help in some way and the doctors ain't trying to do much for you.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00You might say, hey, I think I want to go to a healer. He says Chasing Horse was able to manipulate a lot of people by portraying himself as this ultimate healer.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_00Like he's somebody with spiritual connections that other people don't have, like other medicine men don't have. Like this is him. Like he's all powerful.
SPEAKER_01Right. And he's also preying on their religious beliefs because, you know, he the spiritual part of it.
Ren And The “Life For Life” Trap
SPEAKER_00And you remember that Melissa has had cancer several times. Well, in 2013, she's diagnosed with cancer again. At this point, her daughter's 14 years old, and her name is Ren. They travel to Las Vegas to ask Chasing Horse for his help. And this is all in court record. She prepares him a meal and a pipe. Like this is the 14-year-old daughter doing this. Because he she is asking him to please help my mother. Because remember, it's a life for a life. So someone who's well needs to ask for your healing. Right. So she does all of this stuff for him. He takes her into his bedroom closet where he reminds her that it's a life for a life. And in this instance, it would mean taking her firstborn and her virginity. Oh. Yeah. So I don't think I need to tell you what happened in there. So he does that and then he takes her with him on the road. And he repeats this offense every night.
SPEAKER_01I was gonna say he probably continued it because he was like, oh, well, here's an opportunity for me.
SPEAKER_00He continues to sexually abuse Wren for years. And in 2015, the Fort Peck tribe in Montana actually had banned chasing horse from holding ceremonies on their reservation because there were allegations of human trafficking, drug dealing, spiritual abuse, and intimidation of tribal members. There's another supporter of Chasing Horse that said she actually sought out Chasing Horse only because there was no other legitimate medicine men around the reservation, and the local ones had all served time in prison for sex crimes.
SPEAKER_01So it seems like it was the thing to do.
SPEAKER_00So if you're a medicine, use your power and you're doing bad things. And like there's a whole National Institute of Justice study from 2016 that said more than four in five American Indian and Alaskan Native women have experienced violence, and more than half have experienced sexual violence. That's crazy. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And they're overlooked as a as a human being, almost.
SPEAKER_00So don't think that this this is like a one-off chasing horse is the only guy. No. He just happened to travel around and do it.
SPEAKER_01He made himself known because he was in dancing book whoops.
SPEAKER_00Right. Cool, bro. Not really.
SPEAKER_01Nah.
SPEAKER_00So at the age of 16, which is the age of consent in Nevada, Ren told her mom she wanted to become one of Chasing Horse's spiritual wives. Chasing Horse tells Melissa nothing had happened between them ever. And that that's why they were here asking her permission for him to take her on as a spiritual wife. Melissa tells ABC News that she looked at it as an honor. And when she told me that she loved him, that was enough. Like she was just gonna let her daughter have what she wanted. She said she had not been aware that he had done all of that stuff to his daughter and actually threatened her that if she said anything to her to anyone about it, her mother would die.
SPEAKER_01Oh goodness.
SPEAKER_00And until he became one of her wives, she had no idea that he had also regularly been beating her.
SPEAKER_01That's so crazy.
SPEAKER_00And then the girl's like so afraid that her mom will die that she's gonna do whatever he wants because of her mother. He's holding her her mother over her head. Now, Melissa had heard other allegations, but she would recall, quote, he would always have evidence to justify that what the victims were saying was not true. I'm not ignorant, but the brainwashing and the spiritual manipulation he uses to control each one of us is in there. I didn't understand what happened to me. And Fernando said he actually leaves the circle because he learned about the sexual abuse.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, he was like, bro, I'm not having any part of this. Right. Not going down for your abusing underage girls.
SPEAKER_00Right. And he says that even one of the girls that he found out was being abused had become kind of like his niece. Like this girl was calling him Uncle Fernando.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
Arrest Evidence And Case Complications
SPEAKER_00He said that he had tried to leave before 2014, but Chasing Horse did the same to him. Fear-mongering. If you leave this circle, your family's gonna die. You know? And that's basically what he's holding over everyone. You have to stay here, or your loved ones are gonna die. Right. So in 2023, eight years after he was banished from Fort Peck, Las Vegas police arrest him at the home he shared with his five spiritual wives. And the Associated Press reported that Chasing Horse told his wives to shoot it out with police if they ever tried to break their family apart. Las Vegas police had found video of him having sex with a minor and sexual photos of a young girl.
SPEAKER_01I was like, I'm so sick of men.
SPEAKER_00So this is where I tell you that the Nevada judge, the reason he dismissed the case was quote unquote improper instruction to the grand jury. But like I said, he gets indicted again in 2024. Literally, when all this happened and Melissa gets her daughter back away from chasing horse and tells her mom about everything that happened, she said, but mom, this is the reason why you're not sick. Like she actually believed. She actually believed that was why.
SPEAKER_01That's that's not it at all. No.
SPEAKER_00I was like, how sad is that? Yeah, extremely so the Soutina Nation Police Service in Alberta, which is where there's a warrant for his arrest on multiple charges of sexual exploitation and sexual assault. They have issued like a news release following his conviction stating that they're like monitoring the situation and that the warrant for chasing horses' arrests remains active. So they may, I mean, there's a chance they may seek extradition.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00They said that the verdict is a significant step towards justice for the survivors of a and a testament to their courage. We wish to recognize and commend all of the survivors who have come forward as well as those who continue to do so. Your bravery in sharing your stories is vital in holding individuals accountable and ensuring the safety of our communities.
SPEAKER_01Well, I hope that they at least get some kind of, you know, justice from that. I know it's not going to take away what he did to everybody, but at least it'll keep him from doing it to others. And I just don't understand the whole like men seeing little girls as some kind of sexual object.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_01It's disgusting.
SPEAKER_00And I'm just glad that a jury did find him guilty of at least 13 of the 21 counts. Ten of those counts actually include sexual assault with a minor.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00And some of those counts carry life sentences, but he has not been sentenced yet. He's supposed to be in court on April 27th, the day this comes out. Okay. For sentencing. So we'll watch and see if it happens.
SPEAKER_01Get a little update.
SPEAKER_00And then we'll let you know how that goes. And what's so sad is I I mean, I feel for these victims and everything else. I also feel for the jury who had to witness prosecutors play the the video of him sexually abusing one of the child victims.
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah. Like because they have to see all of that stuff.
SPEAKER_00Like all of this stuff that they're being exposed to. It's so sad. So, I mean, he still faces warrants in Montana as well as Canada. So we'll see where all that goes. I'm interested in seeing how it plays out. I'm sure there will be updates on that stuff as well. But that was the story I was talking about when we were talking about castration in Louisiana. Maybe, maybe Las Vegas needs to pick up on that. Maybe. Just saying.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Well, castration in the desert.
SPEAKER_00I mean, so many other things happen in the desert. Right.
SPEAKER_01All the mob bosses, bodies in Lake Mead, and they're like, oh, what's this that popped up?
SPEAKER_00Oh, look. Another one. So yeah. Sad world we live in where people can't keep their hands off of kids. I know. It's disgusting. It is. Or, you know, can't have live their life like everyone else without being culty and weird. I know. I'm like, I just I don't I don't understand. You can't stand having one spouse. Why do you want multiple? Right.
Why Cult Leaders Get Followers
SPEAKER_01Why do you want multiples? But also, like, why do you think that you're entitled to manipulate people just because you can into believing that you're some healer or messiah or speaker of God or something?
SPEAKER_00It's legitimately maniacal.
SPEAKER_01And then the people who literally like believe this.
SPEAKER_00The people who follow them because they believe they're this all-powerful person.
SPEAKER_01I need to look in to see is there like a study where they actually interview those people and get into their psyche.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Because to figure out what type of person is vulnerable to that sort of situation.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. That would be uh interesting. It would be. I'm gonna have to look that up and see because what type of person does it take to what you know get into a cult.
SPEAKER_03Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Because me, I'm too fucking mean. I'll be like, bitch, joining your goddamn cult.
SPEAKER_00Well, and you know me. I'm like, somebody tells me to do something or tells me I can't do something, and I'm like, oh yeah? Watch this. So there's no me following you because I'm probably like, mm-mm, I'm gonna do something.
SPEAKER_01So you're saying I have to marry Jebediah? Yeah.
SPEAKER_00You must be crazy.
SPEAKER_01My only life purpose is to get married and have babies.
SPEAKER_00No.
SPEAKER_01Yep.
Theme Music Thanks And Listener Messages
SPEAKER_00Whatever you say I'm supposed to do, but I'm not gonna do it. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. I'm just and I've been that way since I was a kid. Same like don't tell me what to do. I I definitely march to my own beat. So most people who know me know I'm like that. My dad was like, you're such a pain in the butt with that. Dubborn. Yeah. But it is what it is. You know who else marches to their own beat? And makes amazing beats at that. Yes. Patty Salzetta. Yep. She's the one.
SPEAKER_01She is the one.
SPEAKER_00So and we thank her for our theme music every time. Every time.
SPEAKER_01It's been over a year of thanking her for this theme music. And we come up with the most interesting ways. We always segue into Patty.
SPEAKER_00Somehow. Somehow.
SPEAKER_01Yep.
SPEAKER_00And if you guys have anything you want to share with us for Sweet Tea After Dark or just any comments about an episode we've talked about recently, it doesn't even have to be this one. Please reach out to us at holdmysweettea podcast at gmail.com or on any social media platform.
SPEAKER_01And we did get a little comment about the Tate Will Roland episode. Um Yeah, we got some fan mail, which we can now reply to, which is amazing. Yes. So I'm not sure how to reply to it, but we're gonna figure it out. We're gonna figure it out.
SPEAKER_00But we appreciate it and we're gonna come.
SPEAKER_01Not the technical part of it. I just have to think of how I need to reply to it.
unknownYes, yes.
SPEAKER_01I know how to like hit reply.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I mean, it was definitely like a an ask for more information. So that was cool.
SPEAKER_01Yep. And you know, you guys send in your sweet tea after dark stuff because we haven't got an episode. Like we we were on a roll. We were on a roll. So this week's episode is gonna be me doing a cryptid.
SPEAKER_00Yay! Because we're waiting impatiently for your story.
SPEAKER_01Even if it's just a little short one, just send it.
SPEAKER_00Yep. We can mix it in with something else like a cryptid. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01Whatever. So as always, hold my sweet tea is a drunken bee production. And you guys remember to stay safe out there. Stay away from cults. And just because we're dipping doesn't mean you can't keep sipping.
unknownBye.