NATCHEZ — In an effort to bring attention to Mississippi’s Native American culture, a plan to develop an extended driving tour of Mississippi’s Indian mounds is currently in the works.

Once completed, roadside markers would be set up to bring attention to mounds that can be viewed from the shoulder of the road.

The extended driving trail would stretch approximately 150 miles from Natchez to Winterville.

Winterville is north of Greenville and approximately 170 miles from Natchez.

Most of the mounds will be visible, or accessible, by U.S. 61.

Director of the Historic Properties Division for the Mississippi Department of Archives History at the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians Jim Barnett said the project would ultimately bring more to the highway than just roadside markers.

“It’s going to be beneficial for the whole area,” he said.

The anchors for the driving trail would be the museums at the Winterville Mounds and the Grand Village.

And both of the museums are slated to be updated along with the driving trail.

The museum at the Winterville Mounds would be replaced with a new museum and the museum at Grand Village is slated to be expanded.

“The present facility needs to be expanded,” Barnett said of the museum at Grand Village.

However none of this work will begin until the funding is in place.

Barnett said the first step in project is to get financing for a study that would examine the project and planning for the museums.

That funding, approximately $2 million, is coming from a Transportation Enhancement Grant from the Federal Highway Administration.

The grant will be administered through the Mississippi Department of Transportation and should be in place sometime this year.

Barnett said while the trail project will bring awareness to the rich Native American culture in the area, it will also serve another function.

Coordinator of Mississippi’s Lower Delta Partnership Meg Cooper said the trail project was conceived to bring tourists into Mississippi’s delta region to help boost their slow economies.

Cooper said travelers driving between the two museums would have the opportunity to stop off in small towns for dining and shopping opportunities.

Cooper said the trail project will be modeled after a similar project in Louisiana.

Barnett said the project in Louisiana, from Marksville to Poverty Point, is the best example to be seen in the area.

“It’s a comparable size,” he said.

Barnett said that project took approximately nine years to complete.

And while the project has yet to acquire all it’s financing and is not working on a timeline, Barnett said the trails project will benefit Mississippi’s economies.

“People are going to be staying in our hotels and eating in our restaurants,” he said.

And if economy benefits are not enough Cooper has another reason for beliving in the project.

“It’s a major part of our history,” she said.