Band of Chippewa Indians and three of its members filed this lawsuit against the United States government, seeking compensation under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. Secs. 1346(b), 2671-2680 (1982), for property damage arising out of the events of May 19, 1979.  In the early morning of that day, a group of dissident tribal members seized several hostages in protest against actions taken by the Chairman of the Red Lake Tribe, Roger Jourdain.  The hostages were eventually freed, but by the time the day ended the dissidents had caused considerable destruction of property on the reservation, including burning Jourdain's house to the ground.


2
The Red Lake Tribe claims that the damage was attributable to the negligence of federal law enforcement officers, in particular to the negligenceErwin, who committed most of the acts alleged to be negligent, was not employed by the BIA.  He was the senior resident agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Grand Forks, North Dakota, the FBI office closest to Red Lake.  The parties have stipulated that "[t]he FBI's statutory mandate was to investigate federal crimes and not to quell civil disturbances or to protect life and property on Indian reservations."    Joint Statement at 2, J.A. at 16a.


6
The revolt on May 19 was precipitated by the firing of the tribal treasurer, Stephanie Hanson, who had criticized Chairman Jourdain's management of tribal affairs, and more generally by an ongoing dispute over tribal matters between Jourdain and other members.  On Friday, May 18, McMullen was