They were all angry beyond belief and grieving that Mr Gibbs' younger sister Fiona had died in police custody, she was only 28 years old and had four young children.

It was 1997 and despite simmering racial tensions and raw emotions in Brewarrina, Mr Gibbs stood side-by-side with his father and said they wanted something different.

It was just 10 years on from major riots in the same town after Lloyd Boney died in custody and sadly not enough was learnt from the subsequent Royal Commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody.

Through tears Gamillaroi man Mr Gibbs told the Daily Liberal that it has been torture seeing the "anarchy" in the United States following the death of African-American man George Floyd in police custody, and then seeing his family pleading for calm from the rioters.

"I broke down in tears last night watching that family of George Floyd make their plea," he said.

"I take it personally what's happening in America and how it's got out of control. It's raw."

On that night back in 1997 when his sister died in custody it would have been easy to say yes to the angry crowds who would riot in Fiona's name, but Mr Gibbs is glad he said no.

"I never thought that one day I'd be a part of that, that my sister would die in a police cell in her own town in Brewarrina," he said.

"The history was raw about Aboriginal deaths in custody in Brewarrina when my sister died.

"When I received that call that day the outrage I felt as the oldest brother, the shock, I don't think you can describe that."

But, Mr Gibbs said he knew straight away that was not the legacy he wanted to leave in his sister's name.

"Absolutely her death could have been prevented, she shouldn't have been in a police station," he said.

"I decided I would channel my anger into something different ... the first couple of years were very hard.

"I look back 23 years later and I think I'm glad we made that decision we did and that I didn't spend 10 years in jail because of my anger at her death."

Mr Gibbs has since founded IPROWD, a program that trains Aboriginal youth to give them a pathway into joining the NSW Police.

"Instead of talking about cops getting hurt and the shops being burn down in Brewarrina, they're talking about this legacy that she has now made," he said.

"It's not just that I've made a difference in other people's lives, it's helped me. I've given someone an opportunity from the tragedy that was my sister's death."

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