The Council of Yukon First Nations is looking to change itself again.

Grand Chief Ed Schultz said Friday he tabled, with CYFN's 11 chiefs during a private meeting last week, a plan to begin reviewing the group's constitution and its structure.

Both times he ran for grand chief, Schultz noted, he campaigned to reunite the territory's 14 first nations plus 'recreate CYFN into a new regional body.'

He didn't do that in his first term, but he feels CYFN is now on its way to making changes.

'I'm very pleased to finally embark on this process that I've been advocating long before I became grand chief,' he told an afternoon news conference.

'I'm finally getting into a position where I've got the endorsement from my chiefs to move this forward.'

According to the grand chief, the first step in the 18-month review is for CYFN to come up with a constitutional proposal that 'recreates a central, political government that is able to change and adapt itself to the emerging fiscal, economic and political circumstances.'

CYFN and its predecessor, the Council for Yukon Indians (CYI) were created to negotiate land claims agreements.

By the time the 18-month period is over, Schultz hopes all 11 of CYFN's member nations will have settled their final agreements.

The Carcross-Tagish First Nation, which will be voting on whether to accept a final agreement, and the White River First Nation are the only two first nations under CYFN without a settlement.

Schultz said the current organization is entrenched under the Yukon government's societies act and has no ability to adjust to self-government.

'Self-governing communities have the power to delegate. But they're not going to delegate to an institution that doesn't have the power to enact or protect their rights or their interests. CYFN has to evolve,' said Schultz.

Another part of the process is to try to bring the three Yukon first nations which do not belong to CYFN back into the fold of 'a new, inclusive, first nation, regional government.'

Currently, the Liard First Nation, the Ross River Dena Council and the Kwanlin Dun First Nation do not belong to CYFN.

The three first nations have been out of the umbrella group since the last time it overhauled the constitution in the mid-1990s, when it went from being the Council for Yukon Indians to the CYFN.

Clauses in the constitution led to the trio walking away from the organization at that time.

Schultz said he has been talking with these first nations on and off for the past four years.

The Kwanlin Dun First Nation indicated last summer, at CYFN's general assembly, that it would look into rejoining the umbrella group.

However, Schultz said it has been indicated to him that the first nation is focusing on the ratification vote of its final agreement.

The constitutional review would also require the group to talk to the federal and territorial governments about CYFN changing its shape.

'I've already gotten some measure of endorsement from Canada on this approach,' Schultz said.

The grand chief recently met with the new Indian and Northern Affairs Minister, Andy Mitchell, and talked about the constitutional review.

According to Schultz, the process will be led by a commission of three or four chiefs.

As part of the process, there will be 14 community hearings across the Yukon.

'(The meetings will be) to hear what everybody has to say about what they want this new, regional body to be, how they want to see it tie in to the development of self-government,' said Schultz.

There will be a constituent assembly made up of different representatives from the participating first nations. That assembly will finalize the new constitution.

It will then be taken to all members of Yukon first nations, who will vote on it in a referendum.

Schultz said this new organization will help set out a better relationship between the territory's first nations and the federal and territorial governments.

The grand chief has no idea what the organization will look like after the overhaul.

'Who's to say the grand chief's office will survive?' he asked.

Schultz believes the 18-month timeframe to rework CYFN is realistic.

'It's my hope that we can get it done by 2005,' said Schultz.