Person Record

• Email to a Friend
• Send Us Feedback

Email Form

All fields are required.

Send an Email to

Your Email Address

Email Subject

Message

Feedback Form

Please help us by providing feedback.

Name (required)

Phone

Alternate Phone

Email Address (required)

Comments (required)

Images

‹

›

1 of 1977 Retrieved from billmiller.co

Image Request Form

Please fill out this form to request an image and click the Submit Request button when done. The organization will contact you to confirm the details of your request.

Name (required)

Address

Phone (required)

Alternate Phone

Email Address (required)

Preferred Format

*Purpose: Provide information about how this image will be used: Description, title of publication, author, publisher, date of publication, number of copies produced, etc. (required)

Record Link
Media Link

View Image Metadata

Metadata

Imagefile	People\Miller_Bill.jpg
Name	Miller, Bill
Other Name	Bill Miller Fush-Ya Heay Aka ("bird song")
Birth Date	1/23/1955
Birthplace	Shawano, WI
Occupation	Musician (Native American flute and guitar) Painter
Role	Artist
Places of Residence	Stockbridge-Munsee reservation, Shawano, WI Milwaukee, WI La Crosse, WI Nashville, TN
Notes	Bill Miller was born on January 23, 1955 on the Stockbridge-Munsee reservation near Shawano, WI. A Native American of Mohican heritage, belonging to the Mahicanuk tribe, Bill's Mohican name is Fush-Ya Heay Aka, meaning "bird song." At the age of 12, he began playing guitar, and as a teen played electric guitar in rock bands as a hobby. Growing tired of rock, he traded his electric guitar for an acoustic one, learning to play folk, country, and bluegrass music. He also picked up a traditional Native American flute, which he later mastered, finding that he connected with it on a spiritual level. After moving to Milwaukee, WI in 1973, he began studying art at the Layton School of Art and Design and won a scholarship. Later, he attended the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in La Crosse, WI. In 1984, after being inspired by a Pete Seeger concert, he moved to Nashville, TN to further pursue a career as a musician. He got his first big break after Tori Amos offered for him to open for her on her Under the Pink tour. Bill eventually gained popularity, playing with artists including Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder, the BoDeans, Richie Havens, and Arlo Guthrie, and writing songs with writers such as Nancy Griffith, Peter Rowan, and Kim Carnes. In 1995, Miller was featured in Vanessa William's "Colors of the Wind", a song from Disney's Pocahontas soundtrack which earned a Grammy, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award. A painter as well as a musician, Bill worked with the Pump House in La Crosse, WI in 2008 to paint one of several herons that were placed around the city. Also in 2008, he worked with the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra and Amy Mills to perform his symphony called "The Last Stand", which was inspired by Miller's visit to the site of the Battle of Little Bighorn at the age of nine. Pictures of the world debut are permanently displayed in the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, and some of his paintings are also displayed there. Miller has won three Grammy Awards and several Native American Music Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award. Currently still alive, he continues to write music, tour, and paint.
Image Caption	Retrieved from billmiller.co

Related Records

1. Album, Record - 2006.003.02

   1982 record album by Bill Miller and the Native Sons with 8 songs. Front of the record sleeve has a photo of Bill Miller playing a guitar. Songs on the record: Let it Rain, Paintings, Whirlwind, Two Places at Once, Eagle Song, Lessons, Hard Earned Love, Mother and Child.

   Record Type: Object