The Cane River region of Louisiana is home to a unique culture, the Creoles. Generations of the same families of workers – enslaved and tenant – and owners lived on these lands for over 200 years. Cane River Creole National Historical Park tells their stories and preserves the cultural landscape of Oakland and Magnolia Plantations, two of the most intact Creole cotton plantations in the United States and both National Historic Landmarks.

The successful candidates will work with the park’s Cultural Resource Program to complete museum collections management tasks in museum and field conditions. The interns will support the project to preserve and digitize archives and records recovered from the Oakland Plantation and Magnolia Plantation units of the Park.

The interns will learn National Park Service (NPS) best practices including proper handling, relocating museum collections, artifact identification, cataloging, museum housekeeping, minor conservation, and exhibit production. Other duties include physically moving museum objects, fulfilling requests for research, resource documentation, developing social media content, and assisting with interpretive programs.

There are two positions available, one for 800 hours and the other for 1200 hours. Please specify which one (or both, if applicable) you prefer in the required essay. Note that interns are responsible for their housing and transportation. The work is based at park offices in Natchitoches, LA.

These positions are part of the Internship Program administered by the National Council for Preservation Education (NCPE). The program is a partnership between the National Park Service and NCPE. The successful applicants must be 30 years of age or younger (or 35 years or younger if a Veteran) when they begin the internship. Other eligibility requirements apply; visit https://preservenet.org/ncpe-internships/ for details and instructions on how to apply.

Qualified NCPE interns who complete their internships may count their position towards earning a Public Land Corps (PLC) Non-Competitive Hiring Authority certificate.  Once earned, the PLC hiring authority certificate may be used to apply for eligible Federal temporary, term, or permanent positions. Visit the website listed above for details about this benefit. Successful completion of the internship does not guarantee Federal employment.