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Peg Millett is a powerful and deeply moving a cappella singer whose music, stories and testimony reweave and recreate human consciousness about the earth and the self. She has been unwavering in her commitment to act against the destruction of the earth's dwindling diversity of plants and animals. From 1991-1993 she was famously (infamously?) imprisoned for her environmental activism in defense of sacred lands, after being convicted of aiding in the destruction of ski lift pylons on the San Francisco Peaks in Northern Arizona, mountains holy to all local indigenous groups. Since her release she has been 'singing her activism,' giving concerts and lectures on social and environmental issues for colleges and universities, at demonstrations, conferences, festivals and coffeehouses, and to aid numerous nonprofit organizations such as the International Native Forest Network, Earth First! and the Nuclear Resister.
Through her small independent label, Hidden Waters Music, she has released two tapes and a CD. Her first, "Gentle Warrior," has sold over 3000 copies; the second, "Clear Horizon," is selling as rapidly as the first and has been aired on many national and international public and community radio stations. A third album is in the works. She says, "I sing to help sustain the soul, to hold out hope, to name sadness, to inspire, to call to arms, to worship and to grieve. The songs on my albums are about the forest, the beauty of wild things, the loss of the West, how a bird sounds, the feeling of the cool of the day and the ugliness that corrupts people's souls."
Millett's history of environmental activism began while majoring in natural history, horsemanship and liberal arts at Prescott College in Arizona. Although she did not join any organizations, she became educated about wildlife and forestry issues. In 1985, two years after receiving her BA, she attended the Earth First! Round River Rendezvous and became and active member. A large part of her work was arousing public awareness of environmental issues through media outlets. Peg Millett is considered a heroine for her unwavering commitment to act against the destruction of the earth's dwindling diversity of plants and animals. In May 1989, she was arrested by the FBI with Dave Foreman, Mark Davis, Ilse Asplund, and Marc Baker in a widely publicized Earth First! sting operation, and charged with property damage to the ski lift on the San Francisco Peaks, which are sacred to all native groups in the Southwest, and damage to the powerlines at a uranium mine at Red Butte, near the Grand canyon, a geological feature which is sacred to the Havasupai Indians. Peg Millett also lives her activism, and has built a solar-powered straw bale house in the Bradshaw Mountains which used very few trees in its construction. She is currently developing roof catchment systems for water, composts and recycles everything, and has recently finished a permaculture design course. She also dances regularly with locally well-known Troupe Salamat, an American tribal-style belly dance troupe.
Her work and her voice have been acclaimed by all who have heard her. Her sister, Kate Millett (author of Sexual Politics), says, "One swims in the sea of sound she commands."
"Her voice makes instruments obsolete." - David Brower, Environmental Land Air and Water Conference, Eugene, Oregon 1996.
"For Millett, singing is one of those healing arts that can help weave the world, unraveling before our eyes, back together into some kind of harmony between human endeavor and natural wisdom." - Art Goodtimes, Telluride-Times Journal, 1994.
"Her Spirit soars to heights we seldom hear in singers. You'll want to heed the call to help heal the wounds of Mother Earth. There must be a word in the dictionary somewhere that describes Peg Millett, but I haven't found it yet. All that 'clarity of tone - straight from the heart - music with meaning' doesn't cut it. Peg has something other singers lack. She zeros in on the 'guts' of a song, then delivers its message with grace and power." - Katie Lee, folk singer, author and long-time conservationist
"Even one week after you met with us, I still associate your presence with this desert landscape. I would like to thank you from the depths for sharing yourself so intimately with our group. Your words were inspirational and deeply touching. While many students must read textbooks in classrooms, we have the opportunity to meet people like you. We feel special that you made such an effort to spend time with us into the night..." - Greg Hoffman, Audubon Expedition Institute, 2001
"Would it be irreverent to name her She Who Walks Her Talk? This impassioned singer with the powerful voice has taken an extraordinary route to the stage, first singing at Earth First! Demonstrations at logging and uranium sites, and later giving concerts after legal eagles forbade her participation in demonstrations...You want stories about The Man and Mother Nature? She'll make you listen up good at this solstice celebration concert." - Metro Santa Cruz, 1996
Venues have included Prescott College, Reed College; Lewis and Clark College; Evergreen State in Olympia, Washington; Emporia State University, Kansas; Pitzer College, S. CA; Northern Arizona University; University of New Mexico; Kent State University; College of the Atlantic; and Colorado State University. She has also performed at environmental conferences, including E-LAW, Ecopsycology, and the Symposium on Environmental Affairs, where she appeared with Vandana Shiva and Redwood Mary. She has sung for numerous demonstrations and non-profit organizations such as Earth First!, Living Rivers, the International Native Forest Network, California Sage and the Nuclear Resister. She is listed with the Program Corporation of America as a nationally-recognised inspirational speaker and singer.
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