Chief Justice Debra Mortimer and Guugu Yimidhirr Traditional Owner Rickii-Lee Woibo. Photo: Supplied.
An element of grief and loss accompanied last week’s Native Title celebration for Traditional Owners.
Eleven years after the Cape York United #1 Claim was filed, Guugu Yimidhirr, Yiithuwarra and Wuthathi people were declared rightful custodians of their traditional lands at the Federal Court hearing in Cooktown on 23-24 October.
But many who started the process did not live to see their hard work come to light.
The court decision marked a bittersweet day for Rickii-Lee Woibo. The Guugu Yimidhirr Traditional Owner stood without her father, an original land champion whose passion ultimately resulted in one of Australia’s largest Native Title processes.
“He passed before the [Cape York United #1 Claim] was lodged, so it was really mixed emotions for me,” she said.
“My dad didn’t really spend much time at home because he was out doing meetings and doing what he loved to do.
“He put everything into it because he loved what he did. It was through him passing away that I actually saw it for myself; it was a connection between me and him.”
Ms Woibo took on her father’s battle for traditional land reclamation, joining him at the Cape York Land Council in 2008 to fight alongside him.
She currently serves as one of the board of directors in Cooktown and works for Cape York Institute, dedicating her life to leading and supporting her community as she continues her father’s legacy.
“It’s good to have that connection back to Country, especially when you’ve been taken away, to find out for yourself you are connected to somewhere,” she said.
“It’s in regards to empowering our own mob. It’s making them believe in themselves that you don’t have to follow generational trauma … and it’s a matter of how you do that, and what’s the support network.
“Whether it’s creating economic development or having connection to Country, [the Native Title determination] empowers the younger generation that there is life out there, and they have this massive land they’re connected to.”
Ms Woibo said she wished her father was alive to witness the determination and see his people recognised, but was happy to be surrounded by family and fellow First Nations people who had all been working towards the same goal.
“[The determination] wasn’t only for the Guugu Yimidhirr people, but it was also for the Yiithuwarra people as well,” she said.
“They’ve been fighting the fight just as long as the Guugu Yimidhirr people have. So to actually share the day with them was, you could say, bittersweet.
“Having my family around, my dad’s siblings, his nephews and nieces, my cousins, was also bittersweet because he was the one fighting for it back then.
“For my mum and her sisters, it was a really proud moment because my mum’s mum was always pushing for her kids and grandkids to have that connection because she didn’t have that.”
Rickii-Lee Woibo stands alongside descendants of great-grandmother Lizzy Big Jack at the Cooktown Native Title hearing. Photo: Supplied.
