For years, governments and communities have defined themselves by their boundaries.

But in today’s society, city limits, county lines, state lines are just that — limits. They limit community growth, economic development. Only by crossing these boundaries and working together can areas succeed.

That was the message nearly 400 leaders from across northeastern Oklahoma heard when they assembled Tuesday for the first area economic summit, “Giving Voice to Our Region,” at Northeastern State University.

The event was co-sponsored by NSU, the Cherokee Nation, and SACC-EZ (Sequoyah, Adair and Cherokee County Empowerment Zone), an economic development organization.

Dr. Don Betz, NSU president, said the summit is part of “making place matter,” a strategic goal of Oklahoma’s regional universities.

What is important is not what divides us, but what unites us, Betz told the group before the keynote address. More than 300 people had registered for the conference, and Betz estimated 350 to 400 were assembled in the Herb Rozell Ballroom at the University Center Tuesday morning.

“We are here to grow the ‘net generation,” Betz said. “We must not only be the architects of the change, we must be the change.”

Bill Langley, chair of SACC-EZ, echoed the sentiment.

“It could be summed up in a couple of words. Together we shall overcome the worst economic conditions we have seen in most of our lives, to give voice to this region,” said Langley.

He said the interdependent approach requires crossing boundaries, interdependence, and innovative approaches to regional challenges.

The goal is systematic, long-term planning for economic change.

Meredith Frailey, speaker of the Cherokee Tribal Council, represented the tribe in welcoming attendees. She said Principal Chief Chad Smith was at a tribal conference with President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C., but that he and the Cherokee Nation are committed to working with leaders from across the region to meet the same goals.

The tribe has cooperated with communities on roads, its landfill, and such endeavors as the NSU College of Optometry, she said.

Speaking on a video, Smith referred to the first Trail of Tears, which brought Cherokees to Indian Territory in 1838 and 1839; and the second Trail of Tears, which led them to California in a government-sponsored exodus from their new homeland, in the name of economic betterment. He encouraged the group to develop a strategy that would eliminate a third Trail of Tears.

As the summit began, small groups gathered by their interests, discussing education, local government, business, allied health and chambers of commerce.