Since the 1930s part of the tribe has controlled a reservation located four miles (6.4 km) west of Port Angeles at the mouth of the Elwha River.

In August 2003 the site of an ancient Klallam village, Tse-whit-zen, was discovered during a construction project on former tribal land in the city.

The Lower Elwha Klallam lived there until the 1930s, when the federal government persuaded them to move outside the city to a reservation four miles (6.4 km) west.

In 2012 and 2014, two dams built in the early 20th century were removed from the Elwha River as part of a major restoration project long advocated by the Tribe.

[4] This is managed by the tribe and located at the mouth of the Elwha River, 48°8′19″N 123°33′11″W / 48.13861°N 123.55306°W / 48.13861; -123.55306,[5] about 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Port Angeles.

Their historic territory was in the northeast of the Olympic Peninsula, approximately from the Hoko River to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

They claimed a rock along the river as their creation site, calling it a word that in Klallam means coiled basket, for its shape.

In the 20th century, the federal government bought land outside Port Angeles and persuaded the tribe to relocate there in 1935–36 from their property in the city, to allow for industrial development along the waterfront.

This has preserved important habitat but dams built on the lower river in the early 20th century altered the ecology by preventing the annual salmon runs.

The Tribe worked with national and regional environmental groups to lobby state representatives and Congress, ultimately gaining passage of the 1992 Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries Restoration Act.

In August 2003, the Tribe's ancient village of Tse-whit-zen was rediscovered during construction of a graving dock in Port Angeles by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).

On December 21, 2004, the state governor announced that WSDOT would halt all construction efforts relating to the graving dock at that site.

As of 2012, certain terms of the agreement, intended to prevent construction or operation of gaming casinos on the site, were delaying the federal government's taking this land into trust for the Tribe.

Some members journeyed to the sacred site, where they gathered water to take back to elders who could not get there, including Adeline Smith.

In Water, Cultural Diversity and Global Environmental Change: Emerging Trends, Sustainable Futures, edited by B. R. Johnston, et al., 387-402.