Rihanna thanks First Nations flight attendant for ‘very special’ gift

Rihanna may sing about Diamonds, but a meeting with an Air Canada flight attendant from Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) in the Quebec area shone far brighter than the jewel.

During a recent flight on Monday, Lily Kahnerahtiio Dailleboust of the Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) on Montreal’s South Shore, gifted the award-winning singer with a set of beads from her community.

“This sweet lady gifted me with something very special that I will never forget and I will never lose,” Rihanna said in a Facebook video posted on Dailleboust’s page.

In the video, Rihanna then asks Dailleboust to introduce herself who says the beads were a present.

She then teaches the artist how to say “thank you” in her language, which is “Niá:wen.” Rihanna then repeats it, with Dailleboust telling her she said it correctly.

The Air Canada flight attendant told Global News Rihanna had boarded a flight from Toronto’s Billy Bishop to Montreal.

“You don’t even know how to react because it’s not my first time having a VIP, but on a small airplane from Billy Bishop, like the Dash-8 Q400, it’s just a regular aircraft, there’s no business class, there’s no separation,” she said.

The music artist was given the crew seats in the back to be more “comfortable,” saying the crew told her she’d be more comfortable and private in the back.

After seating her, Dailleboust introduced herself, offered her water and said she’d provide Rihanna with anything she needed. According to Dailleboust, Rihanna told her she was heading to an A$AP Rocky concert.

During the flight, Daillboust asked Rihanna’s bodyguard if she could give Rihanna a gift.

“Before I started anything I just took out the lanyard and I just presented it to her and said, ‘Oh I just want to offer you a gift,’” Dailleboust said. “You know in my culture we’re very giving. When somebody or something is very significant or meaningful we want to offer you something so I gave it to her. She was so happy.”

The lanyard of beads given to the singer was actually her personal keychain from a store in her community called “Traditions” that has local artists on display and for sale. She said the keychain was actually something she purchased some time ago.

The singer told Dailleboust she was the first Mohawk she’d ever met. They exchanged a bit of information but she had to start service for the flight.

Once the seatbelt sign had been turned off, Rihanna also offered to do autographs or a video.

“She was very nice and she did an autograph for me and then she offered to do a video about me gifting her the lanyard and she actually put it on her purse right away,” Dailleboust said.

Members of the Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) have sent her messages saying they’re proud of her for sharing the culture with Rihanna.

“It was just overwhelming for me because she is such an activist and she is really proactive in humanity itself, she is so lovely,” she added.

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