diff --git a/daft/datasources.py b/daft/datasources.py
index f14b7877c7..cd79972dbe 100644
--- a/daft/datasources.py
+++ b/daft/datasources.py
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 from enum import Enum
 
+from daft.io import IOConfig
+
 if sys.version_info < (3, 8):
     from typing_extensions import Protocol
 else:
@@ -41,5 +43,9 @@ def scan_type(self):
 
 @dataclass(frozen=True)
 class ParquetSourceInfo(SourceInfo):
+
+    use_native_downloader: bool
+    io_config: IOConfig | None
+
     def scan_type(self):
         return StorageType.PARQUET
diff --git a/daft/io/parquet.py b/daft/io/parquet.py
index 3cd308219e..e9137bedf5 100644
--- a/daft/io/parquet.py
+++ b/daft/io/parquet.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 from daft.dataframe import DataFrame
 from daft.datasources import ParquetSourceInfo
 from daft.datatype import DataType
+from daft.io import IOConfig
 from daft.io.common import _get_tabular_files_scan
 
 
@@ -16,6 +17,8 @@ def read_parquet(
     path: Union[str, List[str]],
     schema_hints: Optional[Dict[str, DataType]] = None,
     fs: Optional[fsspec.AbstractFileSystem] = None,
+    io_config: Optional[IOConfig] = None,
+    use_native_downloader: bool = False,
 ) -> DataFrame:
     """Creates a DataFrame from Parquet file(s)
 
@@ -31,6 +34,9 @@ def read_parquet(
             disable all schema inference on data being read, and throw an error if data being read is incompatible.
         fs (fsspec.AbstractFileSystem): fsspec FileSystem to use for reading data.
             By default, Daft will automatically construct a FileSystem instance internally.
+        io_config (IOConfig): Config to be used with the native downloader
+        use_native_downloader: Whether to use the native downloader instead of PyArrow for reading Parquet. This
+            is currently experimental.
 
     returns:
         DataFrame: parsed DataFrame
@@ -41,7 +47,10 @@ def read_parquet(
     plan = _get_tabular_files_scan(
         path,
         schema_hints,
-        ParquetSourceInfo(),
+        ParquetSourceInfo(
+            io_config=io_config,
+            use_native_downloader=use_native_downloader,
+        ),
         fs,
     )
     return DataFrame(plan)
diff --git a/daft/runners/runner_io.py b/daft/runners/runner_io.py
index 5f10071271..869fbf1934 100644
--- a/daft/runners/runner_io.py
+++ b/daft/runners/runner_io.py
@@ -100,6 +100,8 @@ def sample_schema(
         return schema_inference.from_parquet(
             file=filepath,
             fs=fs,
+            io_config=source_info.io_config,
+            use_native_downloader=source_info.use_native_downloader,
         )
     else:
         raise NotImplementedError(f"Schema inference for {source_info} not implemented")
diff --git a/daft/table/schema_inference.py b/daft/table/schema_inference.py
index f8251ee71f..fb9de90a4b 100644
--- a/daft/table/schema_inference.py
+++ b/daft/table/schema_inference.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 
 from daft.datatype import DataType
 from daft.filesystem import _resolve_paths_and_filesystem
+from daft.io import IOConfig
 from daft.logical.schema import Schema
 from daft.runners.partitioning import TableParseCSVOptions
 from daft.table import Table
@@ -73,8 +74,18 @@ def from_json(
 def from_parquet(
     file: FileInput,
     fs: fsspec.AbstractFileSystem | None = None,
+    io_config: IOConfig | None = None,
+    use_native_downloader: bool = False,
 ) -> Schema:
     """Infers a Schema from a Parquet file"""
+    if use_native_downloader:
+        assert isinstance(file, (str, pathlib.Path))
+        # TODO(sammy): [RUST-PARQUET] Implement getting a schema from a Parquet file
+        # return Schema.from_parquet(file, io_config=io_config)
+        raise NotImplementedError(
+            "Not implemented: use Rust native downloader to retrieve a Daft Schema from a Parquet file"
+        )
+
     if not isinstance(file, (str, pathlib.Path)):
         # BytesIO path.
         f = file
diff --git a/daft/table/table_io.py b/daft/table/table_io.py
index 31f44be0f8..2eae36872d 100644
--- a/daft/table/table_io.py
+++ b/daft/table/table_io.py
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 
 from daft.expressions import ExpressionsProjection
 from daft.filesystem import _resolve_paths_and_filesystem
+from daft.io import IOConfig
 from daft.logical.schema import Schema
 from daft.runners.partitioning import TableParseCSVOptions, TableReadOptions
 from daft.table import Table
@@ -94,6 +95,8 @@ def read_parquet(
     schema: Schema,
     fs: fsspec.AbstractFileSystem | None = None,
     read_options: TableReadOptions = TableReadOptions(),
+    io_config: IOConfig | None = None,
+    use_native_downloader: bool = False,
 ) -> Table:
     """Reads a Table from a Parquet file
 
@@ -106,6 +109,16 @@ def read_parquet(
     Returns:
         Table: Parsed Table from Parquet
     """
+    if use_native_downloader:
+        assert isinstance(file, (str, pathlib.Path)), "Native downloader only works on string inputs to read_parquet"
+        return Table.read_parquet(
+            str(file),
+            columns=read_options.column_names,
+            # TODO(sammy): [RUST-PARQUET] Add API to limit number of rows read here, instead of rowgroups
+            # num_rows=read_options.num_rows,
+            io_config=io_config,
+        )
+
     f: IO
     if not isinstance(file, (str, pathlib.Path)):
         f = file