About the Tse-whit-zen series

Seattle Times reporter Lynda V. Mapes, photographer Steve Ringman and graphic artist Mark Nowlin spent months reporting on the discovery of the Tse-whit-zen archaeological site and researching the culture and history of the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe.

Mapes interviewed tribal elders, spiritual advisers, council members and tribal members who worked at the site; state Department of Transportation officials; city, state and federal lawmakers; attorneys and scholars. The stories also draw on research from hundreds of pages of documents obtained from state and tribal officials, and ethnographic accounts of the early life of the tribe.

Nowlin and Mapes worked closely with archaeologists and tribal members to create the graphic depicting life hundreds of years ago in the village of Tse-whit-zen.

The Lower Elwha tribe also provided the Times unusual access to the village site, its people and its documents. Mapes and Ringman were allowed to witness the exhumation of the remains of the tribe's ancestors and view the burial boxes at a private location on the Lower Elwha reservation. The state transportation department also provided access to its records.

Reporting for this series was also the basis for two stories that will run this week on regional National Public Radio affiliates, including KUOW-FM and KPLU-FM. Those stories are a co-production of The Seattle Times and NPR's Northwest News Network.

Mike Fancher's Inside The Times: An extraordinary story