Waiilatpu was a small dot on the map in a larger area now known as Washington state. It is through its Native American name meaning "place of the people of the rye grass" that it receives its identity as a place of grasses, open space, and a relationship with people. Over time, the people using and modifying the landscape of Waiilatpu have changed. It is preserved today as Whitman Mission National Historic Site - a small part of the National Park Service with a story to tell as big as humanity. Why was Waiilatpu preserved? It is because of the human story - the survival, change, and conflict that took place among the grasses make Waiilatpu a place worthy of memory by all people who may learn from it.