The vote on the proposed land claim and self-government settlements for the Kwanlin Dun First Nation has been pushed back from next month to this fall.

The first nation issued a press release late this morning announcing the change in schedule.

'It is important to take the time needed for an in-depth information period, so that everyone can make an informed decision about their future,' Kwanlin Dun Chief Mike Smith said in the press release.

'The agreements that have been negotiated are being presented in as many ways as we can find to help people understand and consider the agreements.'

The first nation announced in March it was beginning its three-month education process to prepare more than 600 eligible voters for a vote sometime in mid-June.

Kwanlin Dun spokeswoman Eileen Vance-Duchesne said this morning the chief and council will meet Thursday to set a new time frame, but expects the vote will be later in the fall rather than earlier.

Smith will not be available for comment until tomorrow afternoon, the first nation indicated.

Vance-Duchesne said the sheer volume of information the members need to digest prior to the vote was the reason behind the decision to extend the ratification process.

Kwanlin Dun will require approval from at least 50 per cent plus one of eligible voters to approve its land claim and self-government agreements.

Unlike none of the other nine Yukon first nations who've accepted their claims to date, the Kwanlin Dun membership will also be asked to vote on a collateral agreement.

That pact provides financial compensation for reserve land alienated by different governments without approval from the first nation. An example is the placement of the mobile home parks on the escarpment overlooking the Marwell area.

Approval of the collateral agreement will require 75 per cent of eligible voters to vote, and approval from 75 per cent of those who do vote.

This morning's announcement comes on the heels of last month's rejection of the proposed land claim and self-government agreements for the Carcross-Tagish First Nation. It was the first settlement package rejected by any of the 14 Yukon first nations.

Vance-Duschesne said she was not in a position to comment whether the Carcross-Tagish result had any bearing on the decision to extend the Kwanlin Dun information process.

While the nine Yukon first nations have ratified, and as Kwanlin Dun and the White River First Nation continue working toward a vote, the two Kaska first nations are not even at the negotiating table.

The Liard First Nation of Watson Lake and the Ross River Dena Council broke off negotiations two years ago and haven't been back to the table since.

The Kwanlin Dun claim proposes financial compensation for the first nation in the tens of millions of dollars, and ownership to tracts of land in and around the city of Whitehorse.

There are, for instance, 101 parcels of community land within the city limits, accounting for 35 square kilometres.