Quannah Chasinghorse is a rising star in the fashion industry, who has graced the covers of Vogue, Elle, and Porter magazines. She is also an activist for Indigenous rights and climate justice, who has fought to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil drilling. But who is she related to? Is she the daughter of Nathan Chasinghorse, the former actor and alleged cult leader who was arrested on sex abuse charges in 2023?
The answer is yes, but it’s complicated.
According to Wikipedia, Quannah Chasinghorse is the biological daughter of Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse, who goes by the name of Nathan Chasinghorse. He is a Native American actor who played the young Lakota character Smiles A Lot in Kevin Costner’s 1990 movie Dances with Wolves. He is also suspected of being the leader of a cult known as The Circle, which police say abused young Indigenous girls across multiple states. He was arrested in Las Vegas in January 2023, after a months-long investigation that began with a tip-off in October 2022.
However, according to Vogue, Quannah Chasinghorse has not had contact with her father since she was a baby. She was raised by her single mother, Jody Potts, who is Hän Gwich’in of Eagle Village, Alaska. She grew up hunting, fishing, dog mushing, and living a subsistence lifestyle with her two brothers in Alaska. She also inherited her mother’s traditional face tattoos, called Yidįįłtoo, which are a symbol of overcoming generational and personal traumas.
Quannah Chasinghorse has not publicly commented on her father’s arrest or allegations. She has focused on her modeling career and her activism work, which she sees as a way of celebrating and sharing her Indigenous culture with the world. She has also supported sustainable Indigenous brands and designers, such as Jamie Okuma, Thunder Voice Hat Co., and Bethany Yellowtail.
