In 2003, Cara Cowan won her first Tribal Councilor election in district 7 with 66% of the vote, the highest winning percentage of any Tribal Councilor in that election. At the time she was the youngest Cherokee Nation tribal councilor in history at 29. She defeated incumbent Harold DeMoss. She served as deputy speaker of the tribal council from 2007-2011 and as acting speaker in 2011. In 2011, She was appointed to the technical advisory group for the Oklahoma Water Resources Board to assist in a review of water quality in Oklahoma's scenic rivers. She was re-elected in 2011 to District 5, Seat 2 after redistricting and sworn in August 14, 2011. After another round of redistricting, she represented the 13th district starting August 14, 2013.
