ColeyG:

Not an expert but have read this pretty thoroughly and have some exposure to the cross-commissioning. So will try to answer your questions but please go back to the first three words: NOT AN EXPERT.

1. What I tried to convey was that even though these "officers" were outside the reservation and the individuals they accosted were not tribal members (hence outside of of tribal jurisdiction) the tribal officers were employees of the tribe, on the clock, and the tribal representative has indicated they were working for the tribe at the time of the incident. My spin on that was that by those words he was cloaking them under the tribal immunity from suit. Criminal charges would be another matter.

2. To clarify, drop the issue of wards of the Government from this specific situation. That was a part of my general comment about multiple status held by tribal members.

3. Also, it may be easier to understand that tribal officers do not need to be tribal members or Indians. That is not really the issue. They were "officers" hired by the tribe but whose jurisdiction was extremely limited. They can arrest tribal members on the reservation and (I think) off the reservation and can detain non-tribal members on the reservation pending arrival of non-tribal officers. They have NO jurisdiction over non-tribal members off the reservation. In that situation they are not LE. They are no more and no less than any other citizen. That is why my comment about why I think the Washington State Patrol officer and/or Sheriff's Deputy should have taken them into custody when it was determined that there was no jurisdiction (and no reasonable possibility of a "mistake").

4. Also, the manner in which the tribal "officers" engaged the properly licensed hunters who had harvested a legal elk in the designated hunting area was extremely unprofessional. Had a real LE officer done that he/she would probably be charged or at least fired.

The fairly new state law which allows for cross-commissioning of tribal officers by individual County Sheriffs includes several very important requirements. Not only does the Sheriff have to agree, the individual tribe (each is its own "Nation") must wave its immunity from suit and post a fairly significant bond to ensure that non-tribal citizens have recourse. In order to be cross-commissioned I believe the individual tribal officers must also attend and successfully complete the same courses required of all other LE in the State.

I don't know what source information you are requesting. Actually, your posted link pretty well sets the stage for this situation. As for cross-commissioning I am sure a search engine inquiry will lead you to it for the specifics.

Hope this helps you understand the amount of angst this situation has caused around here.