reefs surrounding them. Hence being stripped of this not only resulted in loss of traditions but also a loss of kinship ties. Mabo and the four other Meriam people's contribution were significant to rekindling their connection to the land, and as a result Meriam people celebrate the High Court's ruling of the Native Title every June third, paying tribute to Mabo. The Mer people gather together performing dances, prayers and feast to acknowledge the achievements of the applicants. Notable Meriam people Arts Wasie Tardent and Clinton Naina are one of the few Meriam artists that narrate their storytelling traditions through artwork. Politicians The five Meriam people who contributed to the Mabo Case Eddie Koiki Mabo, land rights campaigner Reverend David Passi, Anglican priest, traditional landowner and land rights campaigner Sam Passi, school teacher and linguist James Rice Celuia Mapo Sale Professionals/ Academics Dr Vanessa Lee – senior lecturer at the University of Sydney in behavioural and social sciences Thelma Weston – named Female Elder of the Year for lifelong work as a nurse and health worker See also Meriam language Torres Strait Islanders References Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2016). 2016 census quickstats. https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/SSC31822 Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. (n.d.). The Mabo Case. https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/mabo-case Bliege, B. R., Smith, A. E., & Bird, W. D. (2001). The hunting handicap: Costly signaling in human foraging strategies. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 50(1), 9–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002650100338 Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. (2012). Growing up in the Torres Strait region. https://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/05_2012/op17.pdf Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. (30 October 2017). Murray Island Group, national heritage assessment. Murray Island Group proposed National Heritage Listing. https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/consultations/c3560a05-dc45-4deb-b723-63eeea204552/files/murray-island-group-assessment-history.pdf Gardiner-Garden, J. (1999). From dispossession to reconciliation (Research paper 27 1998–99). Parliament of Australia. https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp9899/99Rp27 Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. (2021). Language, totems and stories. https://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/our-partners/traditional-owners/traditional-owners-of-the-great-barrier-reef/language-totems-and-stories Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. (n.d.). Sea country connections. https://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/4802/gbrmpa_ReefBeat_2010SCC_6.pdf Guedes, C. B., Hamacher, D. W., Barsa, J., Day, E., Day, R., Passi, S. & Tapim, A. (2018). Death and maier: meteors and mortuary rites in the eastern Torres Strait. Australian Journal of Indigenous Issues, 21(3), 39–59. Kelisi. (2006). Map of Torres Strait Island. [Image]. In wikimedia commons. TorresStraitIslandsMap.png Meriam land returns to traditional owners. (7 January 2013). Torres News. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/255245890?searchTerm=meriam%20people Meriam people pay tribute to Mabo. (7 June 2002). Torres News. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/255442648/28341215 National Gallery of Australia. (2021). Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander art. https://nga.gov.au/collections/atsi/gallery.cfm?displaygal=17b&mnuid= Queensland Government. (2018). Mer (Murray