Rihanna learns Kanien’kéha word to thank Air Canada flight attendant

A Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) flight attendant taught Rihanna how to say thank you in Kanien’kéha, her language, last week on a flight from Toronto to Montreal.

Lily Kahnerahtiio Dailleboust from Kahnawà:ke, a Kanien’kehá:ka community south of Montreal, gifted Rihanna a beaded lanyard and then Rihanna asked to take a video with her.

In Dailleboust’s social media post, the pop icon expresses her gratitude for the gift, asking Dailleboust about herself and how to say thank you in Kanien’kéha.

“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 put the beaded lanyard on her purse right away and told her how much she respects Indigenous people. 

“Niá:wen, 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:wen.”

Dailleboust said that Rihanna told her she was the first Kanien’kehá:ka person she had ever met. Dailleboust added Rihanna’s Kanien’kéha pronunciation was “spot on.” 

She said Rihanna offered to take photos and do autographs while they chatted.

Dailleboust said there’s no business class on that flight from the downtown airport on the Toronto Islands, on a Dash 8 Q400, “it’s just a straight cabin right through.”

Dailleboust said business flights often have VIP passengers and she and crew were made aware Rihanna would be travelling with them beforehand.

She said it’s up to the passengers if they want to interact.

“We really follow our policy,” she said.

“We don’t ask them any questions.”

She said since posting the video to her socials, she’s received many positive comments from people in Kahnawà:ke and also their sister communities across Haudenosaunee territories.

“Everybody’s so excited,” she said.

“Like, everybody’s appreciative. They’re all, like, ‘You really represented us well.'”

Tekaronhiahkhwa Standup, also from Kahnawà:ke, owns art shop and studio Traditions where the beaded lanyard was purchased. 

She’s also a beader. She said her store gives other artists, local and throughout the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the opportunity to sell their work on consignment and she’s pleased it also provides an opportunity for their work to be seen. 

Standup said both her shop and community were buzzing with the news of Dailleboust’s video. 

“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.”