Typically, Americans don’t spend a lot of time looking backward but we must know our own history so we can navigate the future.

That’s why projects like the one in Wallowa by the Wallowa History Center is notable. The center seeks to create a four-building home for a sort of historical compound that will include an interpretive center and a research library on 1st and Madison streets.

The project has a ways to go but the fact that such an idea is gaining steam in the community is good news.

There is a lot of history in Eastern Oregon and sometimes we all take it for granted. We shouldn’t.

That’s because knowing our own heritage helps us form opinions and develop ideas for the future. As Americans, we spend a lot of time moving into the future as fast as possible and fail to stop and reflect on our history.

Projects like the one in Wallowa and existing facilities — such as the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center near Baker City — can provide citizens with a new, or even different, perspective regarding their ancestors. We need more history, not less, and calm contemplation about what it means for the future.

We don’t learn lessons well. The Vietnam War taught a host of lessons but we didn’t seem able to apply those experiences effectively in Iraq or Afghanistan.

There is the old adage that those who fail to learn from the mistakes of the past are destined to repeat them. While the saying is often misused it should resonate for us all.

Learning about how and why those who came before us acted the way they did or what decision they made under certain circumstances can help us troubleshoot challenges that arise in the future.

Our history in Eastern Oregon is packed with triumphs and tragedies and loss and redemption. Every one of those stories holds a lesson. Let’s make sure those lessons don’t fade away.