🪶 Meet Jen Murphy (Sweetgrass Lodge)

Co-Founder | Trainer | Advocate | Cultural Educator

Jen Murphy is an enrolled member of the Chippewa-Cree Nation of Rocky Boy, Montana, and brings a powerful cultural and systemic perspective to Building Blue’s work.
She holds a degree in Communications and a Master’s Certificate in Native American Studies, and has spent her career working in child protection, adult parole, and Indigenous advocacy.

Jen began her career as a Child Protection Specialist, later serving as an ICWA Expert for the State of Montana. She went on to work in Adult Felony Parole, gaining hands-on experience in rehabilitation, accountability, and public safety.

A passionate advocate for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People (MMIW/P), Jen leads Tveraa Photography, a project that brings visibility to MMIW/P through a national photo series of Native women featured on billboards across the country. The project has been showcased on NBC’s Today Show and CBS’s 48 Hours, and inspired her award-winning short film Not Afraid, which she executive produced.

Jen serves by appointment of the Montana Attorney General on both the Native American Domestic Violence Fatality Review Commission and the State Domestic Violence Fatality Review Commission.

Areas of expertise:

• Cultural Humility & Historical Trauma

• MMIW/P Awareness & Advocacy

• Trauma & Resilience in Native Communities

• Cross-Cultural Systems Training

• Best Practices in Advocacy & Healing

“Every statistic represents a person, a family, and a story. When we listen with empathy and act with intention, we change the story for the next generation.” — Jen Murphy