HANK MURPHY Kumeyaay Sycuan

SYCUAN KUMEYAAY Council Member and Sycuan Fire Chief Hank Murphy, Henry R. Murphy, was born and raised on the Sycuan Indian Reservation, El Cajon, CA. He earned his bachelor's degree, a B.A. in business, from National University.

Mr. Hank Murphy's paternal grandparents are from the La Huerta Kumeyaay indigenous community, Baja California, Mexico, and his maternal grandparents are from the Inaja and Sycuan Indian reservations, San Diego County.

MR. MURPHY is pictured above carrying a Native American Indian ceremonial staff during a pow-wow grand entry on the Sycuan Indian Reservation, 1992. A U.S. Marine veteran of the Korean War, Mr. Murphy is an active member of the local VFW, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States.

COUNCIL MEMBER MURPHY has served on the Sycuan tribal government council for more than 30 years, including two terms as Sycuan's vice chairman, one term as the Sycuan treasurer, and numerous consecutive terms as a Sycuan council member. Councilman Murphy currently serves on the Sycuan sovereign tribal government council as an elected council member. He remains a staunch supporter of tribal sovereignty rights for Native American Indian governments.

CHIEF MURPHY founded the Sycuan Fire Department in 1974 and currently heads the tribal fire department which includes the elite San Diego County helicopter Flycrews and Golden Eagles Hotshots.

HANK MURPHY served as vice president of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), 1993-1995. NCAI was founded in 1944 and is the oldest and largest tribal government organization in the United States. NCAI serves as a forum for consensus-based policy development among its membership of over 250 tribal governments from every region of the country.

As a team, Shirley and Hank Murphy established the Sycuan medical, educational, and firefighting institutions on the Sycuan Kumeyaay Indian reservation in San Diego County.

MR. MURPHY has been married to Shirley Murphy for more than 36 years and they have lived on the Sycuan Indian Reservation 34 years of their married life. Hank and Shirley Murphy have raised two children on the Sycuan reservation, including Rob Murphy (pictured, 2007).

See Hank Murphy's PROFESSIONAL FIREMAN'S BLOG.