Our Mother Tongues

Liberating Indigenous Languages in Contextual Theology

Abstract

This article examines the suppression and liberation of Pasifika indigenous languages, positioning
“mother tongues” as foundational to identity, theology, and ecological belonging. Drawing on
personal testimony and examples from Samoa and across the Pacific, it demonstrates how colonial
education and economic systems have systematically marginalised oral traditions in favour of
Western literacy. The article contends that indigenous languages are not merely communicative
tools but repositories of relational life-worlds that shape spiritual imagination. It argues that
language loss entails a profound dislocation of identity and belonging, and that linguistic
reclamation constitutes a critical act of liberation. Ultimately, the paper calls for a reimagining of
education and theology that resists colonial hierarchies and affirms Pasifika languages as central to
justice and communal flourishing.