A chance encounter aboard an Air Canada flight turned into a memorable cultural exchange when a Kanien’kehá (Mohawk) flight attendant taught global music star Rihanna how to say “thank you” in Kanien’kéha.
Lily Kahnerahtiio Dailleboust, from Kahnawà, a Kanien’kehá community south of Montreal, was working on a flight from Toronto to Montreal last week when she gifted Rihanna a handmade beaded lanyard. The gesture was warmly received, and Rihanna later asked Dailleboust if they could record a video together.
In a video shared by Dailleboust on social media, Rihanna expressed her appreciation for the thoughtful gift while asking questions about Dailleboust and her culture.
“This sweet lady gifted me with something very special that I would never forget and never lose,” Rihanna said in the video.
“Thank you so much.”
Dailleboust, who works for Air Canada, said Rihanna immediately attached the beaded lanyard to her purse and spoke about her respect for Indigenous peoples.
“Niá, I explained to her, is a word in my language and she was like, ‘Oh, I want to do a video about it’ and it was pretty cool,” Dailleboust said.
“I taught her how to say niá.”
According to Dailleboust, Rihanna mentioned that she was the first Kanien’kehá person the singer had ever met. She also noted that Rihanna’s pronunciation of the Kanien’kéha word was “spot on.”
The interaction extended beyond the brief language lesson, with Dailleboust recalling that Rihanna happily posed for photos and signed autographs while they chatted.
Dailleboust explained that the flight, operated on a Dash 8 Q400 from Toronto’s downtown island airport, does not have a separate business-class section.
“It’s just a straight cabin right through,” she said.
She added that airline staff had been informed in advance that Rihanna would be travelling on the flight, as VIP passengers are not uncommon on business routes. However, she emphasized that crew members respect passengers’ privacy and only interact if the passengers choose to do so.
“We really follow our policy,” she said.
“We don’t ask them any questions.”
Since sharing the video online, Dailleboust said she has received an outpouring of positive feedback from people in Kahnawà and other Haudenosaunee communities.
“Everybody’s so excited,” she said.
“Like, everybody’s appreciative. They’re all, like, ‘You really represented us well.'”
The beaded lanyard gifted to Rihanna was purchased from Traditions, an art shop and studio in Kahnawà owned by Tekaronhiahkhwa Standup, who is also a beader. The store supports Indigenous artists from Kahnawà and across the Haudenosaunee Confederacy by providing a platform to sell their work on consignment.
Standup said the community and her shop were thrilled by the attention the video received.
“It was just a really cool experience to see that video, how open Rihanna was to hearing who [Dailleboust] was, to being open to learning just even a simple phrase,” said Standup.
“And just to have her respect that whole situation and then it going viral was icing on the cake.”
Harnaik Singh Rathor is the Founder, Publisher, and Editor-in-Chief of StudioX News Canada, Canada's multilingual digital news network serving diaspora communities across 44 languages. With a background in media production, public relations, and multicultural communications, he founded StudioX Film and TV Corporation to bridge the gap between mainstream Canadian media and the country's diverse immigrant communities. He is a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), RTDNA Canada, CPRS Vancouver, Unifor, NEPMCC, and the Canada Freelance Union. Based in Surrey, British Columbia. | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harnaiksinghrathor/ | Muck Rack: https://muckrack.com/harnaiksinghrathor | Email: editor@studioxnews.ca
