The National Park Service has in the works a Chickasaw Nation cultural museum to be located in the Tupelo area.

Stennis Young, acting superintendent of the Natchez Trace Parkway, said Monday the museum is separate from a Chickasaw interpretive center being planned just east of the Lee-Pontotoc county line.

The Chickasaws lived in Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama and Tennessee until the mid-1800s when they were forced to move west. The Chickasaw Nation now is based in Oklahoma.

Young said the National Park Service, the City of Tupelo and the Chickasaw Nation are partners in the museum project.

The museum will be in the Tupelo area, but Young said many details still need to be worked out, including the scope of the museum and what it will look like.

The planning will take about 12 to 18 months, and then Young said the partnership will begin seeking funding for the project. He also said there will be meetings to gather public comment. The dates for the meetings will be announced in the next few months, he said.