The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is awarding $125,000 to the University of Hawaii’s law school to research and publish a guide to help Native Hawaiians better understand their rights regarding land issues. 

The primer is to focus on an area called quiet title, which refers to an area of the law in which courts decide the interests of various parties in a piece of property. Historically, many Native Hawaiians lost title to land via this process.

The university said Thursday the grant will pay for the Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law to produce the primer, distribute it, and conduct community outreach meetings. The center plans to hire a fellow and two student research assistants to support the project.