ABOUT TUM'ARTUQ
Ty Tum'artuq Cunningham has over 40 years of experience in scout tracking, survival, defense, and pack animal tactical applications and teaching. He is a retired Supervisory Deputy and Tactical Commander in the United States Marshals Service and an Indigenous SAAMI. Has taught government scout tactical training and employment cumulatively to thousands; before, during, and after his employment with the U.S. Marshals. Has solved hundreds of tracking investigative cases during his law enforcement tenure and is a U.S. Marshals Certified Master Scout Tracker (CMST).
From 1984 to 2005, he served in the U.S. Army Combat Arms (Active and Guard). As an infantry long range surveillance (LRS) senior scout and staff sergeant he mastered the skills of close quarter battle strategy, operational tactics, and all-weapon synchronization. Having mastered terrain analysis and austere adaptability to his environment he developed the modern scout tracking system. He is truly a mountain man in the soldiery sense and continues to pass on his tactical skills.
In 1995, Ty was selected to the FBI Anchorage Regional SWAT team as the first non-FBI agent in U.S. History to achieve this honor. He spent three years serving as a tactical entry operator and tracked for the team in rural operations until 1998. From 1998 to 2002, he developed and served as commander of the Special Warrant Detail-Tactical Tracking Unit (SWD-TTU) for the U.S. Marshals District of Alaska and from 2003 to 2006 he developed and served as patrol captain and commander of the Special Warrant Detail-Mounted Tracking Unit (SWD-MTU) for the U.S. Marshals District of Wyoming.
Ty is a certified police instructor, tactical firearms instructor, police jujitsu instructor, man-tracking Instructor, and backcountry enforcement specialist. Ty is also a Federal and State Court certified expert in self-defense, officer survival, defensive tactics, man-tracking, footprint evidence, and arctic/sub-arctic survival.
Ty has been the strategy, tactics, and tracking technical advisor on over a dozen fiction novels: Pray for Justice & Hide and Seek published by Publication Consultants of Anchorage, Alaska and Books in Motion of Spokane, Washington, To Hell and Beyond published by Pinnacle Books of New York City, New York, and the new international thriller books by Marc Cameron, National Security, Act of Terror, State of Emergency, and Time of Attack, to name a few. He has also been the tracking technical advisor for Alaska Outdoor Magazine’s Radio Show, KBYR 700, Ty’s Tuesday Tracking Tip.
In 2004, Ty was cast as the team leader for the tracking team in the Red Brick Entertainment TV show, “The Chase: Trackdown” which aired on Court TV, and in 2011, as an on-camera professional tracking consultant and trackway behavior scientist in the Travel Channels Anchorage Episode of “Hidden City.”
Over the years, Ty has been recognized for his scout tracking research and application methodologies by many national & international organizations and publications to include most notably the National Native American Law Enforcement Officers Association newsletter, Royal Canadian Mounted Police publication, “Gazette” published titled Modern-Day Scouts, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service newsletter.
In 2010, Ty was the national selectee by the U.S. Marshals Service Training Academy to attend the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, where he earned a terminal Master of Military Art and Science (MMAS) degree and was one of the distinguished graduates for his thesis on Human Tracking Forensics ( Forensic Spoorology) out of a student body of over one thousand military U.S. and foreign field grade officers.
Since his retirement in 2012, he has continued to pass on his knowledge as an author, teacher, and consultant.
From 1984 to 2005, he served in the U.S. Army Combat Arms (Active and Guard). As an infantry long range surveillance (LRS) senior scout and staff sergeant he mastered the skills of close quarter battle strategy, operational tactics, and all-weapon synchronization. Having mastered terrain analysis and austere adaptability to his environment he developed the modern scout tracking system. He is truly a mountain man in the soldiery sense and continues to pass on his tactical skills.
In 1995, Ty was selected to the FBI Anchorage Regional SWAT team as the first non-FBI agent in U.S. History to achieve this honor. He spent three years serving as a tactical entry operator and tracked for the team in rural operations until 1998. From 1998 to 2002, he developed and served as commander of the Special Warrant Detail-Tactical Tracking Unit (SWD-TTU) for the U.S. Marshals District of Alaska and from 2003 to 2006 he developed and served as patrol captain and commander of the Special Warrant Detail-Mounted Tracking Unit (SWD-MTU) for the U.S. Marshals District of Wyoming.
Ty is a certified police instructor, tactical firearms instructor, police jujitsu instructor, man-tracking Instructor, and backcountry enforcement specialist. Ty is also a Federal and State Court certified expert in self-defense, officer survival, defensive tactics, man-tracking, footprint evidence, and arctic/sub-arctic survival.
Ty has been the strategy, tactics, and tracking technical advisor on over a dozen fiction novels: Pray for Justice & Hide and Seek published by Publication Consultants of Anchorage, Alaska and Books in Motion of Spokane, Washington, To Hell and Beyond published by Pinnacle Books of New York City, New York, and the new international thriller books by Marc Cameron, National Security, Act of Terror, State of Emergency, and Time of Attack, to name a few. He has also been the tracking technical advisor for Alaska Outdoor Magazine’s Radio Show, KBYR 700, Ty’s Tuesday Tracking Tip.
In 2004, Ty was cast as the team leader for the tracking team in the Red Brick Entertainment TV show, “The Chase: Trackdown” which aired on Court TV, and in 2011, as an on-camera professional tracking consultant and trackway behavior scientist in the Travel Channels Anchorage Episode of “Hidden City.”
Over the years, Ty has been recognized for his scout tracking research and application methodologies by many national & international organizations and publications to include most notably the National Native American Law Enforcement Officers Association newsletter, Royal Canadian Mounted Police publication, “Gazette” published titled Modern-Day Scouts, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service newsletter.
In 2010, Ty was the national selectee by the U.S. Marshals Service Training Academy to attend the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, where he earned a terminal Master of Military Art and Science (MMAS) degree and was one of the distinguished graduates for his thesis on Human Tracking Forensics ( Forensic Spoorology) out of a student body of over one thousand military U.S. and foreign field grade officers.
Since his retirement in 2012, he has continued to pass on his knowledge as an author, teacher, and consultant.
