Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe Project Lands Restoration Act
Key claim: HR2388 would take approximately 1,082.63 acres in Washington into trust for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, making the land part of the tribe’s reservation while prohibiting gaming on it.
Abstract
(HR2388 · 119th Congress) Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe Project Lands Restoration Act This bill takes approximately 1,082.63 acres of specified lands in Washington into trust for the benefit of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. Land taken into trust shall be part of the tribe’s reservation. Further, the bill prohibits gaming on the land taken into trust. Latest action (2026-05-20): Committee on Indian Affairs. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
[This finding represents 2 closely related documents issued 2026-05-20 (same source, same action). Related: congress:119-s-1513:introduced]
Why this matters
Land-into-trust legislation directly affects tribal sovereignty, self-governance, and the practical ability of a federally recognized tribe to exercise jurisdiction over ancestral territory. The explicit gaming prohibition reflects a common political compromise in modern restoration bills and shapes what economic development the tribe may pursue on the restored acreage. For the Lower Elwha Klallam community, the outcome determines whether project-related lands become permanent reservation territory subject to tribal, rather than state, authority.