Fight For Our Land: In Honor Of Eddie Koiki Mabo

“My name is Edward Mabo, but my island name is Koiki. My family has occupied the land here for hundreds of years before Captain Cook was born. They are now trying to say I cannot own it. The present Queensland Government is a friendly enemy of the black people as they like to give you the bible and take away your land. We should stop calling them boss. We must be proud to live in our own palm leaf houses like our fathers before us.”

Today, the International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL) joins the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to commemorate Mabo Day. 

Mabo Day is named after Indigenous Meriam activist Eddie Koiki Mabo to honor his life, particularly his leadership in the Mabo Case, which challenged the terra nullius doctrine or “land belonging to no-one.” European colonizers promoted this to legitimize their occupation of Australia and Torres Strait Islands by declaring these Indigenous territories as “belonging to no-one.”

After a ten-year battle in court, the High Court of Australia decided on June 3, 1992, in favor of the Indigenous Peoples, recognizing the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional owners of their land. Following this, the Australian Parliament passed the Native Title Act of 1993. Unfortunately, Eddie Mabo had died before the court arrived at the landmark decision. 

Together with his wife Bonita, Eddie also established one of the first Black community schools in Australia. We remember them as Indigenous Peoples' champions of truth and justice, which are crucial in the path toward genuine reconciliation. 

While the victory of the Mabo Case is a milestone in the struggle of Indigenous Peoples (IP) for self-determination, the fight against state neglect and discrimination continues for the IP of so-called Australia. Even the Native Title Act does not fully guarantee Indigenous rights as the IP are still burdened to prove their right to the land. It reinforces a system that relies on “titles” - the opposite of the principles that Eddie Mabo and the Meriam people had fought for regarding land rights.

The International IPMSDL stands with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and our non-Indigenous Australian allies in the campaign for genuine recognition and reconciliation. We join you in speaking out against genocide and letting the world know our struggles for identity, sovereignty, and survival.

Long live Eddie Koiki Mabo. Long live the struggle for self-determination of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples!

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