The Breakfast Club | INTERVIEW: Nataanii Means & ANTOINEX Speak On Indigenous Peoples' Day, Native Misconceptions, Hip Hop + More

Date: October 13, 2025
Host: iHeartPodcasts, The Breakfast Club (Charlamagne Tha God, DJ Envy, Lauren LaRosa sitting in for Envy and Jess Hilarious)
Guests: Nataanii Means, Antone X (ANTOINE X)

Episode Overview

This episode celebrates Indigenous Peoples' Day with Native hip hop artists Nataanii Means and Antone X (Antoine X), discussing the significance of the day, Native identities, misconceptions, Native hip hop, and cultural revitalization. The conversation covers representation, struggles and triumphs on the reservation, language revitalization, collaboration with Black culture, myths about Native people, and the importance of unity and community uplift through music.

Main Topics & Key Insights

1. Significance & Complexity of Indigenous Peoples’ Day

• Guests express gratitude for the platform and recognition, highlighting how rare it is for Native voices to reach mainstream media ([02:47–03:56]).

• They discuss the duality of Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Columbus Day and the long-standing fight for proper recognition.

  • "It feels good to be here and be recognized. And to be on a platform like this... means the world to us and to our people, too. A lot of our people don't get to be on platforms like this." — Nataanii Means [02:47]

• Despite struggles, the day is about celebration and resilience, not just trauma.

  • "We want to celebrate. You know, we're here right now, and we're thriving. We're making it out of places that they didn't want us to make it out of." — Antone X [03:23]

2. Defining Indigenous Hip Hop & Its Role

• Indigenous Hip Hop is not about cultural appropriation but using hip hop to tell Native stories.

  • "We're not hijacking the culture is what I want to make clear. It's...just adding onto it to grow the culture." — Nataanii Means [05:12]

• The music serves as a vehicle for contemporary Native expression, tackling underrepresentation, stereotyping, and erasure.

• Shared histories of struggle connect Black and Indigenous communities through music and activism ([05:44]).

Notable Moments:

• "Hip hop saved a lot of our lives. R and B Hip hop on the reservations, because we heard it as a music of the struggle, music that you could tell your story with." — Nataanii Means [05:44]

3. Contemporary Native Identity and Representation

• Guests reject the idea that Native identity is monolithic or stuck in the past ([07:06–10:12]).

  • “To be a Native person in general...is walking two worlds…deeply tied to our culture...and then there's this other world, the mainstream world, that's like, hey, get the bag at all costs.” — Antone X [07:16]

• Stressing diversity: Over 560 nations in the U.S., each with separate languages, ceremonies, and traditions. Representation is individual, not collective ([10:02–10:17]).

Memorable Quote:

• "We don't represent all nations. Right now there's 500, over 560 different nations in this country." — Nataanii Means [10:02]

4. Elders, Tradition, and Language Revitalization

• The role of elders is discussed (knowledge vs. age).

• The tension and pride surrounding incorporating traditional songs/language into hip hop ([15:23–17:18]).

  • "We incorporate our traditional sound. Tone's a singer. He's a traditional singer…We bring our drums into it. We add it into the beats. We're always gonna bring the culture into it." — Nataanii Means [14:07]

• Music as a force for reviving dying Native languages and reconnecting youth.

  • "I incorporated some umaha language, which almost died out some years ago, and I put it into a dance hall record... now we have little kids singing it, and...we're bringing language back." — Antone X [16:10]

5. Challenging the Education System & Policy Setbacks

• The removal of Indigenous Peoples’ Day as a federal holiday is discussed as a setback ([18:23–20:22]).

  • "The history isn't taught because they want to forget the history...they want to make it seem like genocide, slavery didn't happen." — Nataanii Means [19:08]

  • "We're here. We're wearing long hair. My grandpa had his hair cut in boarding school…here we are, you know, and we're merging cultures together to be able to speak our language and have a sense of pride in it." — Nataanii Means [19:08]

6. Common Misconceptions and Stereotypes about Native Peoples

Key Stereotypes Addressed:

• Brutality on reservations ("cutting hands off for stealing") — debunked as myth ([27:31]).
• Alcoholism as an inherent trait — refuted with personal stories ([28:41–29:33]).
• "Free government money" and not paying taxes — debunked ([30:13–31:38]).
• Living in teepees and lack of modern amenities — discussed realities of poverty, but also progress.
• They clarify the reality: severe socio-economic hardship is true in many places, but the community is clawing out for better conditions ([32:21–34:21]).

Notable Quotes:

• "My whole entire life as a native person, 100%, I've never had one taste of alcohol my entire life...that's just what I chose to walk. In our way, we call that the red road." — Antone X [28:51]

• "We pay taxes, you know what I'm saying?...It just so happens that our ancestors paid the worst tax." — Nataanii Means [30:23-31:38]

7. Community Uplift & Native Economic Success

• Discussion of “Native Entertainment Sphere,” entrepreneurship, keeping money in the community, and the rise of Native businesses ([32:53–33:25]).

• Examples of Native Fashion Week and thriving music/festival scenes.

  • "When we keep native money in the native community…it's popping and getting that to be able to be recognized in the mainstream is a goal." — Nataanii Means [32:53]

8. Unity and Cross-Cultural Connection

• Emphasized the need for unity among marginalized groups, with music serving as a bridge ([34:50]).

  • "You just gotta find that energy that you gravitate towards. Find like minded people and black, brown, indigenous. Everybody just gotta click up, you know, Even the good white folk." — DJ Envy [34:58]

• Oral tradition remembers pre-contact trade routes and connections to Africa and the Pacific ([37:14–38:39]).

  • "We had trade routes from...the Pacific Islands...Africa would come and trade all the way from South America, Atlantic, all the way up into New...Newfoundland. So we have, like, every nation has stories of these trade routes that are happening." — Nataanii Means [37:14]

9. Native Community Events: Powwows and Food

• The powwow is described as the heart of Native celebration — invitation for all to respectfully attend ([41:48–44:13]).
• Discussion about “survival food” like fry bread versus traditional Native cuisine.

Notable Quotes:

• "If you're trying to connect with indigenous community, go check out a powwow and be respectful, you know? But you're always welcome there." — Nataanii Means [44:13]

10. Music as Medicine & Closing Reflections

• Descriptions of community support at shows and the importance of moving “for and with the people.”

  • "If you tap into the artist, that door opens, and we open that door for all native artists, brands, businesses, all of that..." — Antone X [47:17]

• An Indigenous prayer song is shared as an act of healing and uplift for the community ([48:18–50:35]).

  • "For us, music is medicine because it’s in our ceremonies...the best prayer in the world, man, is through this song." — Antone X [48:18, 50:35]

Timestamps for Major Topics

| Time | Topic | |:------------:|:-----------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:42 | Introduction — significance of Indigenous Peoples' Day | | 03:23 | Platform access; celebration vs. trauma | | 04:02–05:44 | Indigenous hip hop, representation, and shared struggle | | 07:06–10:12 | Contemporary Native identity; diversity among tribes | | 12:05–14:49 | Elders’ view on hip hop; youth, tradition, and blending culture | | 16:10–17:18 | Language revitalization through music | | 18:35–20:22 | Federal policy; removal of Indigenous Peoples' Day | | 27:28–31:38 | Addressing myths and stereotypes | | 32:21–34:21 | Life on reservations—struggles and entrepreneurship | | 34:50–38:39 | Unity, cross-cultural ties, oral traditions | | 41:48–45:02 | Powwows, food, and entry points to Native community | | 48:18–50:35 | Closing with a prayer song; music as medicine |

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On platform visibility:
  "It means the world to us and to our people, too. A lot of our people don't get to get to be on platforms like this. We come from the reservations." — Nataanii Means [02:47]

• On cultural appropriation vs. appreciation:
  "We're just adding onto it to grow the culture and to be connected more. Because hip hop saved a lot of our lives." — Nataanii Means [05:44]

• On resisting monolithic narratives:
  "We don't represent all nations. Right now there's 500, over 560 different nations in this country." — Nataanii Means [10:02]

• On stereotypes about Native people:
  "My whole entire life as a native person, 100%, I've never had one taste of alcohol my entire life." — Antone X [28:51]

• On unity in struggle:
  "Everybody just gotta click up, you know, Even the good white folk. Everybody just gotta click up." — DJ Envy [34:58]

• On reclaiming tradition:
  "If you tap into the artist, that door opens, and we open that door for all native artists, brands, businesses, all of that." — Antone X [47:17]

• On music as healing:
  "For us, music is medicine because it’s in our ceremonies...the best prayer in the world, man, is through this song." — Antone X [50:35]

Episode Flow

• Opening: Importance of the day and being heard ([02:42])
• Defining Indigenous hip hop and the struggle for representation ([04:02–05:44])
• Discussing modern Native experiences, challenges, and diversity ([07:06–10:12])
• Highlighting intergenerational issues, innovation, and resilience ([12:05–14:49, 16:10–17:18])
• Reacting to policy changes and ongoing erasure ([18:35–20:22])
• Exploring and debunking deep-seated stereotypes ([27:28–31:38])
• Discussing challenges and successes in modern Native communities ([32:21–34:21])
• Stressing the power of solidarity, tradition, and music as a vehicle for change, ending on a spiritual note ([41:48–51:42])

Conclusion

This interview is a vibrant, candid celebration of Indigenous life and resilience in 2025, mixing humor, hard truths, and hope. Nataanii Means and Antone X shed light on modern Native existence, address stereotypes head-on, and show how music serves as resistance, medicine, and a bridge to unity. The episode is an invitation for greater understanding, respect, and solidarity between cultures, echoing the spirit of Indigenous Peoples’ Day.