Lorna 'Nanna Nangala' Fejo has been remembered as a powerful and staunch campaigner who advocated for better health, education, and compensation for Stolen Generations survivors.
The 91-year-old Warumungu woman, who passed away on Friday, was seen as a 'champion' for her people - with her work in health advocacy, compensation for Stolen Generations survivors, and community work being her greatest legacy.
"She absolutely was a rock to our family. She was very resilient. Very strong," said her daughter, Christine King-Fejo.
Nanna Nangala Fejo has passed away at the age of 91 and leaves behind a strong legacy. (Supplied: Michael Gunner)
Nanna Nangala was forcibly removed from her Tennant Creek Community in the Northern Territory at just four years old and taken north to Croker Island.
"My mother was torn from her mother's arms and her stories about what she remembers on that day were being grabbed and put up onto the back of the wagon," Ms King-Fejo said.
"She was looking back at her mother who was chasing after them and then falling over and crying. That was her last memory."
She never saw her mother again.
Christine King-Fego was also removed for several years as a child but managed to escape the clutches of the authorities when her father took them out bush to hide.
'We were sent to Croker Island mission, same as my mother. it was generational trauma. It was a generational experience. It had a huge impact on her," she said.
Apology about healing
Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told Nanna Nangala's story when he delivered the historic National Apology in February 2008 in Canberra.
Ms King-Fejo said her mother's decision to share it was not an easy one, but she felt that telling of the impacts of removal on her family was important for the nation to hear.
"She wanted to ensure that her story was understood — that the pain people actually went through became real for people," she said.
Nanna Nangala rejected the offer to sit in the House of Representatives and chose to hear the word 'Sorry' in the public gallery.
"She sat in the stalls with me and my sisters. She wanted to be with her family because she thought it was about families. And it was about healing," Ms King-Fejo said.
"So many of our elders thought that they would never live to see any leader of this country apologise in such a way."
Tributes flowing
People from across the country have paid tribute to Nanna Nangala, including politicians like The NT's Chief Minister Michael Gunner, the Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt, and former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who stayed in touch following his speech.
"He actually became a part of her life. Even after the apology. He would call her on her birthdays and would ring her and check in on her," Ms King-Fejo said.
Lorna 'Nanna Nangala' Fejo with former Prime Minister during the National Apology to Stolen Generations survivors in 2008 (AAP)
Ken Wyatt acknowledged her bravery in a statement.
"A proud Warumungu woman, Nanna Nangala was a beacon of light and hope amidst the despair and suffering of the Stolen Generations," he wrote.
"Through the bravery of people like Nanna Nangala Fejo, all Australians are able to better understand the devastating and traumatic impacts of child removal policies."
Nanna Nangala's passing comes just days before the Commonwealth's redress scheme opens for claims, but her family said it was the apology that was much longed for —with the hope compensation would come.
"Too many people have passed on," Christine King-Fejo said.
"But so many of them thought that they would die before there was an apology. They thought an apology would open the door for so many other things — and they've been right."
