Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this report contains the name of a person who has died.

People and organisations around Australia have paid tribute to the late Gudju Gudju, also known as Seith Fourmile, who died peacefully last week at his home at Gordonvale on Gimuy Walubara Yidindji Country in Far North Queensland.

A revered leader of the Indigenous sovereignty movement, Gudju Gudju was 62 years old when he passed.

The Gimuy Walubara Yidindji Elder played a key role in Gimuy/Cairns becoming one of the first Australian cities to officially fly the Aboriginal flag, and was a leading voice for land rights.

Five years ago he travelled to Germany to bring home the remains of his ancestors, including a Yidindji king, that had been taken from country in the 19th century. Some of the remains were of ancestors killed at Skeleton Creek in a frontier wars massacre.

Last year, Gudju Gudju urged the British Museum to return thousands of traditional weapons and other objects to their homelands.

Gudju Gudju's sister, Professor Henrietta Fourmile Marrie, told the ABC he will be remembered for his passion to keep family together, on Country, and his fight for the recognition of Gimuy as part of Yidindji land.

"One of his highlights was to engage in the sovereignty movement and particularly look at Yidindji sovereignty in this space," she said.

"His achievement was he made sure that people not just listened, but heard, and were reminded about the country in which they lived. That was his passion and what he was out to achieve."

Gudju Gudju was a major part of a ceremony that commemorated the Frontier Wars, which Professor Marrie said was "a celebration of coming together as Yidinji people with non-Indigenous people".

The ABC reports Professor Marrie said Gudju Gudju's wife Jenny and his children "were his life".

Cairns councillor and former state MP Rob Pyne told the ABC Gudju Gudju would be remembered as "a leader who told the truth, who was honest and who worked in good spirit".

He said he spent "hundreds of hours" over the years listening to Gudju Gudju speak about land and culture.

"He changed my life in that respect," Cr Pyne said said.

The Cairns Indigenous Art Fair were among many to acknowledge the passing of Gudju Gudju.

Organisers of the popular Fair said they were "deeply privileged" to have Gudju Gudju's involvement from its inception in 2009.

"Alongside his siblings, sister CIAF Patron Henrietta Fourmile Marrie AM, brother Hendrick Fourmile and family, Gudjugudju's stewardship and generosity of spirit spanning 15 years shaped many of the event's highlights and gatherings," the Fair said in a statement on Monday.

"From the ceremonial traditions of Welcome to Country to the sincerity of his interactions with artists and guests, Gudju Gudju will be remembered for his passion and commitment to culture, the environment, his people and his beloved Gimuy."

The Fair also said he was a "tireless advocate" for First Nations communities throughout the Cairns region.

"His compassion, leadership, and commitment to a brighter future for all resonated with everyone fortunate enough to work alongside him. The CIAF Board and team extend their deepest condolences to Gudju Gudju's family and friends, particularly to all those lives in which he either shook a hand, shared a smile, or shone his light."

Professor Marrie told the ABC Gudju Gudju's leadership in Indigenous sovereignty led to the Walubara Yidindji flag being presented to Justice Jim Henry to be displayed at the Supreme Court in Gimuy/Cairns.

"Reminding everyone that the Yidindji lore continues on and … will be continued by the Yidindji families, and it will always be there, parallel," she said.