The leader of a Southern California Indian tribe and a sheriff’s department vowed Friday to work together to lower tensions after three people were killed on the reservation in gun battles with deputies.

Tribe Chairman Robert Salgado declined to elaborate, citing a mutual agreement with the Riverside County 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.

Morris called the effort “a first step” after days of antagonism between the tribe and law enforcement.

The two-hour summit came four days after deputies pursued a man and woman into the hills of the reservation southeast of Los Angeles following reports of shots fired at a tribal security guard shack.

Authorities say the man and woman fired at a sheriff’s helicopter and SWAT team before officers killed them. Tribal funeral rituals for the pair were scheduled Friday night.

On May 8, deputies killed a former tribal chairwoman’s son who opened fire on them on the reservation.

The Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians has a 3,170-acre reservation and operates a casino. The tribal Web site says it has about 900 members, but many live in communities neighboring the reservation.

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

Salgado and other members of the tribe earlier this week accused deputies of using their land as a practice range and failing to give them the respect due to a sovereign nation.

Salgado has said he believes deputies may be retaliating against the tribe for asserting its independence from their authority. In 2006, the tribe met with state officials to discuss replacing department oversight with tribal enforcement for certain civil matters, such as domestic violence.

The dispute centers on the sometimes confusing overlap of authority between the county and the tribe.

Riverside County doesn’t have formal operating agreements with tribal authorities in their jurisdictions, which may have exacerbated antagonism, an Indian affairs expert 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.