SIKSIKA NATION, Alta. — On a balcony overlooking parched yellow grass and shallow pools of flooded black forests, Treffrey Deerfoot feels the foundation of his ancestors.

It was here 134 years ago, in 1877, that Treaty 7 was signed — a land agreement with the federal government that continues to define the everyday lives of the Siksika people.

"We have a relationship with the Crown. These other bodies — provincial, these other municipal governments — they're new kids on the block. I would say this is the gateway to the West," said Deerfoot, 49, a husky man with a long black braid who works as a cultural curator at the Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park.