William and Kate were welcomed in several instances by the people and traditions of Canada’s First Nations this week, as they traveled through the northern portion of the nation.

First, they got a welcome for the Dene and Inuit peoples, Reuters reports.

Drums, dancing and steady rain greeted Britain’s Prince William and his wife, Catherine, Tuesday in the Northwest Territories, the furthest point north in their nine-day visit to Canada.

This sparsely settled province of Canada with little more than 40,000 residents is home to the Dene, a tribe of Canada’s First Nation. The newlyweds watched Inuit sports, such as hand games and ‘shinny,’ a form of hockey, then flew on an amphibious plane to Blachford Lake, where they were to observe moosehide tanning and fish drying.

The visit by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge conjured fond memories for Marie Bear Chief, whose father Leo Youngman, the Siksika chief, greeted Prince Charles’ during a visit in 1977. The Calgary Herald reports that the long ago visit was meant to commemorate the signing of Treaty No. 7, which signifies a strong link between the monarchy and First Nations.

Treaty 7 was signed by five southern Alberta tribes: the Siksika (Blackfoot), Kainai (Blood), Piikani (Peigan), Tsuu T’ina (Sarcee) and Stoney. The agreement established reserves, promised annual payments and continued hunting and trapping rights in exchange for the tribes ceding rights to their traditional lands.

Western Canadian treaties were signed during the reign of Queen Victoria, who was sometimes referred to as “mother” or the “great white mother.”

The couple was not scheduled to visit the lands of any Treaty No. 7 nations. Representatives of several tribes were disappointed the royal couple didn’t have more time to visit the lands of their people, the Herald reported.

Jenna Cederberg