A dress comes home

A woman purchased a dress at a raffle in Nashville 20 years ago, then moved to Colorado. She recently found it in a trunk and looked closely at its delicate handiwork. She realized it was a Native American dress and discovered its maker was from the Choctaw tribe in west Tennessee. Wanting to return it, she called Pat Cummins in Nashville with the Alliance for Native American Indian Rights, who, in turn, contacted Cubert Bell, a Choctaw leader. Bell was delighted that someone wanted to return the ornate dress--he said he knew who made it. This Saturday at 2 p.m. at MTSU, the dress will come home to be officially identified by the maker's two daughters who still live in Nashville. This special repatriation will be part of the Native American Festival March 1, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. and March 2, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. in the MTSU Livestock Center. There will be food, dancing, music, crafts and more. Tickets are $6 for adults; $3 for children.

For information and comments, call organizer Georgia Dennis at 615-898-2551; Cummins at 615-874-1435; or Bell at 901-785-3160. Log onto www.mtsu.edu/~powwow. Media most welcomed.

The Michigan AA case

The Bush Administration has filed a brief opposing the University of Michigan's admissions policy at the undergraduate school and law school. How much will this influence the Supreme Court's decision? Dr. John Vile, constitutional law expert, says the Solicitor General, who represents the administration in cases like this, often has great influence. "The Solicitor, however, will be one of scores of voices. As in Bakke, the amicus briefs in this case are legion," he notes.

Contact Vile at 615-898-2596.
jvile@mtsu.edu

Far cry from slick

Johnny Paycheck was the last of a breed, says Dr. Charles Wolfe, expert on country music--a working-class honky tonk singer who was rough, unpredictable "and about as non-commercial as they come. ... He was a far cry from the slick, well-coifed pretty boys who dominate country radio today, but his passion and soul helped make country music what it is."

Contact Wolfe at 615-898-2663.
cwolfe@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA: TODAY, Feb. 24, 7 p.m. Learning Resources Center, Multimedia Room, "The Destruction of Black America: Where Do You Stand?"--a lecture by Dr. Francis Dorsey, free and open to the public. Media welcomed.
TOMORROW, Feb 25, 1 p.m., Learning Resources Center, Satellite Video-Conferencing Center, "A Woman Called Truth: A Conversation with the Cast and Crew," with a live studio audience composed of middle and high school drama students and several remote audiences. Media welcomed to come and interview the cast and director Dr. Jette Halladay. For more information, call Dr. Connie Schmidt at 615-898-5191.
THURSDAY, Feb. 27, 6:30 p.m., Black Alumni Achievement Awards Reception, Alumni Center, honoring Wendell Porter, Chantel Grimes Bridgeman, Rodney Bennett, Mary McClain and Erik Foster. Media welcomed. For information, call Sherrie Murray at 615-898-2987.
THURSDAY, FRIDAY, SATURDAY, Feb. 27, 28 and March 1, 7 p.m., "A Woman Called Truth," a drama about Sojourner Truth, MTSU Tucker Theatre, $10 adult, students free with MTSU ID. Call 615-898-2640.