The Chief of the Whitecap Dakota First Nation is confident their language will eventually be spoken every day in the community.

Darcy Bear says the 180 people registered for the first Dakota language conference in Saskatoon almost doubled expectations.

The delegates who included youth, adults and elders heard experts from across Western North America speak about the unique nature of the language.

Bear says with their language and culture already being taught to students from Pre-K to grade 8, the conference is meant to take preservation of their language to the next level.

Bear expects an app for youth to hear pronunciations and phrases will be available soon.

He says economic success has allowed the first nation to invest in language and culture development and with the signing of the self governance agreement, preserving their language is important.

Next year’s conference will also be in Saskatoon and move to the community’s new hotel in 2020.