Riverside, CA - Native Policy Lab Field Researcher (part-time)

Position Summary:The Native Policy Lab (NPL) at the University of Iowa is hiring temporary, part-time, paid field researchers to assist with Project Return. Project Return is an initiative of the NPL to return copies of Indian boarding school records to all survivors who want them. This project is currently funded by the Mellon Foundation through 2028. To learn more about the project, please view this articlehttps://now.uiowa.edu/news/2025/07/ui-associate-professor-receives-mellon-foundation-grant-partner-native-nations-2 (https://now.uiowa.edu/news/2025/07/ui-associate-professor-receives-mellon-foundation-grant-partner-native-nations-2).

The NPL is currently hiring field researchers at the following National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) field offices:Riverside, CA. Field researchers must be located near one of NARA field offices, as travel will not be reimbursed for this position. Field researchers will be required to complete the National Archives Researcher Orientation and additional safe document handling training. Further training will also be provided regarding Project Return, NPL process of requests, and confidentiality protocols for handling private records.

As Indian Boarding School survivors request the return of their records, field researchers will be tasked with fulfilling the requests by conducting records scanning at the NARA field offices. The NARA field offices are open Monday-Friday, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Field researchers must be available to conduct records scanning during NARA field office hours. The hours for the NPL Field Researcher position will likely be highly variable and depend on the volume of requests and available records at each archive location.

Duties To Include:

* Completion of the National Archives Researcher Orientation training and Safe Handling of Library and Archival Materials training

* Corresponding with NPL researchers and maintaining timely and clear communication

* Local travel to the National Archives

* Fulfilling records requests in a timely manner that meets NPL expectations

* Careful scanning of historic Indian boarding school records

* Use of personal mobile device and computer to fulfill job duties

* Duties completed with attention to confidentiality requirements

* Other site-based duties related to Project Return as assigned

Position Basics:$20/hour

Schedule:Ongoing, part time, flexible hours.

Required Qualifications:

* No education level or student-status requirements

* Experience with online file management is extremely important for this position. Applicants will preferably be comfortable using Microsoft Office products such as Outlook, OneDrive, and Excel.

* Must be located near one of the following National Archives field offices: Riverside, CA.

Desirable Qualifications:

* Knowledge of or experience working within Indian Country

Application Instructions: Email cover letter and resume to LilliAnna Scott atlillianna-scott@uiowa.edu (mailto:lillianna-scott@uiowa.edu). Please include the location of the position you are applying for in the subject line.