Before the Cherokee Nation 1999 Constitution was ratified by voters in 2003 and recognized by the federal government in 2006, the tribe was governed under different laws that required extensive input and oversight by Cherokees when they decided to rewrite the document in 1995.

Under the 1975 Constitution, the tribe was required to ask its citizens in 20 years whether the law should be amended, edited, or reworked through a constitutional convention. After it was overwhelmingly endorsed by CN citizens, the tribe created the Constitution Convention Commission in 1998 to discern what changes should be made.