SAN JACINTO, Calif.—The leader of Southern California's Soboba Indian tribe agreed Friday to establish a joint operation plan with Riverside County sheriff's officials after three people were killed on the reservation in gunbattles with deputies.

Tribe Chairman Robert Salgado declined to elaborate, citing a mutual agreement with the Sheriff's Department to remain silent about their closed-door negotiations with a federal mediator.

Sheriff's policies and procedures would be reviewed at a meeting tentatively set for next week, said Dale Morris, regional director of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. He read a brief statement to the press after the two-hour summit at the Soboba Springs Country Club, calling the effort "a first step" after days of antagonism between the 900-member tribe and law enforcement.

Earlier this week Salgado accused deputies of coming to the reservation to "blow people away" and referred to the local sheriff's station commander, Capt. Glenn Worby, as "General Custer."

Worby sat silently in the corner of a small conference room as Salgado opened the meeting with an apology for his remarks to the press.

"Over the past two weeks this has escalated out to some bad blood between the Sheriff's Department and myself," said Salgado, who sat at the head of a heavy wooden conference table with an eagle feather laid before him. "I ask forgiveness if I offended anybody."

After initial remarks, sheriff's officials asked

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that news reporters invited by the tribe not be allowed to remain in order to ensure that all parties would feel comfortable speaking freely. The meeting continued privately behind closed doors after all parties agreed to eject reporters from The Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times.

Sheriff's Chief Deputy Craig Kilday would not comment on why he made the request and said only that he felt the meeting had been "very constructive" as he walked to his car.

On Monday, deputies killed a man and woman in a long gunbattle after the pair opened fire with assault rifles on a tribal guard station. On May 8, deputies killed a man who opened fire on them on the reservation. That man's brother died in a gunfight with deputies in nearby Valle Vista in 2002. They were sons of a former tribal chairwoman.

Friday's meeting included representatives of the regional Bureau of Indian Affairs office, a conciliator from the U.S. Department of Justice, sheriff's officials including Kilday and Worby, representatives from the office of Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, and the county Board of Supervisors, as well as the tribal secretary and treasurer.

Salgado opened the meeting with a prayer for the families of the two people killed Monday. Tribal funeral rituals for the pair were scheduled Friday night.

Expressing hope that those present would speak government to government, he said he was protecting his people and understood that the Sheriff's Department has a responsibility to protect the people of the county.

The Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians has a 3,170-acre reservation nestled in the foothills of the San Jacinto Mountains about 85 miles southeast of Los Angeles. It operates a casino and entertainment complex.

The Sheriff's Department claims deputies have repeatedly come under fire on the reservation and say they have tried to communicate with tribal leaders. They declined to discuss the ongoing investigations.

Salgado and other members of the tribe responded earlier this week with raw hostility, accusing deputies of using their land as a practice range and failing to give them the respect due to a sovereign nation. He said he did not want felons on his land but would not stand for being shunted aside by the local sheriff's captain.

The dispute centers on the sometimes confusing overlap of authority between the county and the tribe. In all but six states, tribes answer only to federal authorities, but in California and five other states—Alaska, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, and Wisconsin—tribes are subject to the same laws as everyone else, even on reservation land.

Many counties have worked out operating agreements with tribal authorities in their jurisdictions, but Riverside, home to myriad tribes, has no formal structure for approaching tribal leaders. That ad hoc approach may have exacerbated antagonism, experts said.

"It's a pragmatic matter—if you show disrespect for the tribal elder you wind up having long-term difficulties policing," said Carole Goldberg, a professor of law and Indian affairs at UCLA who has advised Salgado. "If they're going to act like an occupying force, they are not going to get cooperation in terms of people reporting crimes, or coming forward as witnesses."

Salgado has said he believes deputies may be retaliating against the tribe for asserting its independence from their authority. In 2006, the Soboba severed its joint patrol agreement with the Sheriff's Department, citing the expense, and last year the tribe met with state officials to discuss replacing department oversight with tribal enforcement for certain civil matters, such as domestic violence.

The tribal Web site says it has about 900 members, but many live in communities neighboring the reservation.