Police said he abused his position, physically and sexually assaulting girls and women, taking underage wives and leading the cult.

Chasing Horse was born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, home to the Sicangu Sioux, one of the seven tribes of the Lakota nation.

A 50-page search warrant claimed Chasing Horse trained his wives to use firearms, instructing them to “shoot it out” with police if they tried to “break their family apart”.

Police also traced sexual allegations against Chasing Horse to the early 2000s in Canada and in states including South Dakota, Montana and Nevada, where he has lived for about a decade.

Angeline Cheek, an activist and community organizer who has lived on the Fort Peck Reservation most of her life, said she clearly remembers tensions inside the council chambers when Chasing Horse was banished.

Cheek, now 34, said she hopes Chasing Horse’s arrest will inspire more Indigenous girls and women to report crimes and push lawmakers and elected officials to prioritize addressing violence against Native people.