nataanii means

Nataanii Means is an Oglala Lakota, Omaha, and Diné hip-hop artist, organizer, and culture-bearer whose music carries the voice of a generation rising from the lands that made them. Born into movement work and raised across powerful Indigenous homelands, Nataanii’s artistry blends razor-sharp lyricism, ancestral memory, and modern resistance. His sound moves between ceremony and street, protest and prayer — a bridge between worlds.

 

From the Black Hills to Diné Bikéyah to stages across Turtle Island and beyond, Nataanii has become one of the most respected voices in Indigenous hip hop. His work is rooted in sovereignty, land defense, and the stories of his people — not as nostalgia, but as living instructions for the future. He has performed globally, appeared at frontline movements from Standing Rock to global solidarity actions supporting the indigenous peoples view of protecting the environment. He’s collaborated with artists building a new era of Indigenous renaissance.

 

As a clean energy organizer and advocate for tribal nations, Nataanii’s music and activism flow together: both aimed at protecting land, empowering youth, and shifting the narrative of what Indigenous futurism can be. His songs are gritty, cinematic, deeply personal, and unmistakably political — telling stories of survival, joy, grief, love, and the quiet strength found in community.