After almost two decades, the Ngadju people from WA's Goldfields have had their native title claim formally recognised.

On Friday, the Federal Court of Australia convened in Norseman to officially recognise more than 100,000 square kilometres of land as Ngadju native title.

About 40 per cent of the area, east of Norseman, has been named as exclusive possession which is the highest form of native title.

Sonny Graham is one of the few remaining Ngadju elders who started the claim for native title 18 years ago.

He said the recognition had secured the Ngadju culture and traditions for years to come.

"It is exciting, it's been a long hard road but when you have something worthwhile, the challenges make it more precious to you," he said.

Mr Graham said the recognition had come too late for many Ngadju elders who had since passed on.

"One of the oldest ladies was granny Mable Wilson and the other one was uncle Arthur Dimer," he said.

"They were the two that originated the first claim and signed the papers, but sad to say they're not with us today, but they would be pleased that this has happened.

"There's a lot of country there and we know our country, we know there's food there, animals we can hunt.

"We can pass on our cultures, this is the important thing, to our children."

Determination leaves legacy for future generations

Honourable Justice Shane Marshall presided over the case for the last past decade, and his finding in favour of the Ngadju people was his last act as a Federal Court judge before his retirement.

The area covered includes approximately 102,000 square kilometres surrounding Norseman, 700 kilometres east of Perth, of which about 45,000 square kilometres is exclusive possession.

Ngadju man and conservationist Les Schultz said recognition as traditional custodians was all his people had wanted for 20 years.

"That law now says that we have been a people here on the land for a long time, always have been and looks to be now, always will be," he said.

"All that is virgin land and very attractive to the tourism industry, conservationists love it - it's a hotspot.

Mr Schultz said having the determination was particularly important for the next generation.

"Us oldies as you know, we pass on, but with the kids coming through they remind us of life and of our hope," he said.

"That's how we see our area of land mass for all the future generations.

"I just hope and pray that they take a stance of looking after country and making it sustainable.

"We leave a legacy from this day onwards for people to look into land management, joint partnerships and collaborations with government, with the private sector and with mining.

"We're starting that journey and hopefully we want to bring in all these groups together, even the pastoralists in a cohesive way so that we can have an inclusive model of operating on the land.

"That's what Ngadju is about - we want to be inclusive."