Air Canada flight attendant shares Mohawk culture with pop star Rihanna

An Air Canada flight attendant got a thrill last week when she gifted pop superstar Rihanna a beaded lanyard from her Mohawk community south of Montreal.

Lily Kahnerahtiio Dailleboust says the encounter happened during a June 1 Air Canada Express flight from Toronto to Montreal when she approached Rihanna’s bodyguard and asked if she could give the singer a present.

“I wanted to give her something because it represents me and it represents my culture, and her bodyguard was like, ‘Sure, you can give it to her,'” she said in an interview.

The flight attendant says Rihanna gladly accepted the lanyard, expressing her support for Indigenous people. She said the singer also talked about her home country of Barbados.

Dailleboust says she felt an “instant connection” with the singer, who then offered to take photos and sign autographs with the crew.

The two filmed a video together in which Rihanna thanks Dailleboust for the present and asks how to say “thank you” in Mohawk.

“This sweet lady gifted me with something very special that I will never forget,” Rihanna says in the video, as she holds up her purse with the lanyard attached.

The singer then says “niá:wen” in thanks, with what Dailleboust confirms is proper pronunciation.

Dailleboust said the key chain lanyard came from a shop in Kahnawake called Traditions, which features beadwork from local artisans. She said the lanyard isn’t a sacred or significant cultural item, but it was meaningful to her because it comes from her community.

The flight attendant says she’s used to seeing celebrities on her flights but that meeting Rihanna stands out as a career highlight so far.

She said the plane on that route doesn’t have a first-class area, so staff placed the singer and her travel companions in their own row at the back of the aircraft to give them as much privacy as possible.

She said VIPs only engage with staff as much as they choose to, but that Rihanna seemed outgoing and happy to meet people.

“It was such a good vibe and an instant connection,” she said. “We were just able to interact really naturally and there was nothing forced or fake.”

By Morgan Lowrie