In the mid-nineteenth century, the tribes in the American West form a confederation called The People to oppose the encroachment on their lands by the expansionist United States. Mostly composed of the Plains tribes, the membership also includes distant tribes as diverse as the pueblos of northern Mexico and the coastal tribes of California and Oregon. The American leaders in Washington order the army to destroy the confederation, thus opening their lands for settlement. Easier said than done. The People have an ace in the hole. They have superior armaments and technology, supplied by a shadowy Asian people called the Celestials. This is sci-fi lite/alternate history.