After 171 years, the Klallam are getting their river back

A federal bill returning 1,100 acres along Washington's Lower Elwha River to the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe has passed both houses of Congress and now awaits only an executive signature. The land sat muddy and dormant under a dam's reservoir for more than a century. It left the tribe's hands 171 years ago, and was flooded 114 years ago, when the Elwha Dam cut the Klallam off from the river they had lived on. The parcel includes historic villages and the spot where elders say the tribe was blessed into existence. It is home to kingfishers, mountain lions and salmon. The Elwha Dam was torn out two decades ago, and salmon have been returning to spawning grounds they could not reach for over a century. This marks the fourth straight year tribal members have fished the river. "Our land isn't just land," said tribe chair Melissa Gilman. "This is part of who we are as people."