August 1872 — Washington D.C.
The morning sun glared through the great arched windows of the Oval Office, painting long lines of gold across the stacks of documents that littered President Henry Wilson's desk.
He had not slept properly in three nights.
Each hour brought a new telegram, another editorial, or another cabinet member with opinions that were either hysterical or self-serving.
He rubbed his temples, staring once more at the parchment that had come by diplomatic courier — sealed with five wax crests, one for each of the tribal federations of the Rocky Mountain Confederation.
"Native America," he muttered aloud, tasting the phrase as if it were a strange new fruit. "A sovereign nation, on American soil…"
He let the words hang in the air.
Across from him, Secretary of State Hamilton Fish waited in silence, his normally cool expression tight with tension.
His presidency had been rife with trouble postwar.
The former confederate territories were damaged far to greatly for a quick repair to bring them back up to standard.
Worse yet, many nations had interests in america's weakness.
And though he would never admit it, Wilson's administration was rife with corruption.
So much so that his own republican party had fractured months ago when he attended the republican convention and announced who would be his next vice-president running alongside him in the coming election.
Now leading the Liberal Republican party was a disgraced Army Cavalry general, named Grant.
This liberal party was taking every shot they could to pilfer more supporters from the true Republican party to replace them as the main party.
The issue of land succession had become a hot topic recently with the democrats easily using the information to further their cause and paint Wilson as a fake liberal, willing to uphold Lincoln's emancipation initiative but only to a certain extent.
He had already given in allowing segregation in place of slavery, but now they pushed the native crisis in his face as well.
"They have the British behind them," Fish said finally. "And the Canadians. France too, though they won't admit it outright. If we push back, we're not fighting a few thousand tribesmen — we're staring down the full weight of Europe."
Henry gave a grim smile. "And yet, if I yield, I'll be crucified by my own party before the ink dries, those hills are lush with gold, and silver..."
The silence that followed was heavy.
On the far wall hung a painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware.
Henry caught his own reflection in the glass — pale, aging, but resolute.
He had once believed himself a man of unshakable ideals.
A radical abolitionist.
A champion of justice.
But governing a country was not the same as fighting for its soul.
Now every moral victory came tied to a political suicide note.
"Ten billion dollars," he murmured at last. "That's what they offered, in gold reserves, along with the rights for any existing american prospectors to keep their mines and be allowed to ship dug up gold back to the U.S without taxes or tarrifs?"
Fish nodded.
"If they were to deliver it all at once, we could pay off the entire national debt along with the costs of the reconstruction efforts all at once."
This single sale deal could wipe out all debts the united states presently held, not only that but also bring their treasury close to a billion us dollars to fund the coming rail expansions westward to link up with the coastal states.
While America would still be unified, the deal still left a bad taste in his mouth, but after months of deliberating, Wilson and his party were intending to sign the agreement.
"Sign it." Wilson finally uttered, feeling defeated, the american people had no real concept of what was happening but would be overjoyed once the news broke.
America while losing out on land and future prospects in the region would be gaining a great amount of money all at once, and any existing settlers and prospectors could still operate as if they were americans just without being able to open new mines, or business without Native approval.
~
Thanks to this signing.
The Treaty of Denver was born.
The New York Herald printed the story first, and within hours, newspapers across the nation had picked it up.
"WILSON SELLS AMERICA'S WEST!" screamed the headline."$10 BILLION DEAL BETRAYS REPUBLIC!" declared another.
The outrage was immediate — and political.
Democrats denounced the act as treasonous, claiming the Republicans had "sold the birthright of Manifest Destiny to a nation of savages." In the House, speeches raged for hours.
Some congressmen threatened censure, others impeachment.
But to the ordinary citizen?
The reaction was muted, even indifferent.
After all, who among the working class had ever seen the mountains of Idaho or the plains of Montana?
To most, those lands were abstract — distant wildernesses beyond imagination, sure there were stories of hills overflowing with gold, but more than one scam had been creating using this very same excuse before and most of the people had already become numb to these rumors.
It wasn't until a week later, when the Washington Tribune published the front-page article — "THE BIRTH OF NATIVE AMERICA" — that things began to change.
The paper printed a painting of Chief Koda Greyhawk himself, surrounded by representatives of the Sioux, Crow, Ute, Arapaho, and Cheyenne — all signing the founding charter beneath a flag of five feathers encircling a single rising sun.
The story painted them not as enemies, but as a people reborn — survivors of centuries of persecution finally given justice.
For the first time, the American public looked west and felt not shame, but pride.
President Henry Wilson's approval ratings soared.
His campaign rallies swelled with crowds chanting "Justice for all!" and "Peace with honor!"
The Democrats' fury dissolved into silence.
They had gambled on outrage — but found themselves drowned in applause.
And so, on September 3rd, 1872, the United States formally recognized the sovereign Republic of Native America, its capital at Cheyenne City, its borders drawn from the mountains to the plains.
The new nation was born but almost immediately afterwards, a second treaty was signed this was was with the British through the Canadian Parliament.
Effectively making the new Native America a protectorate state under Canada, which was a member of the british empire.
Though Koda and Elias behind him did not plan to utilize this connection for long, the reason being was back in Utah, Koda was guiding a Mobile Construction Vehicle into positions within the Twin Peaks mountains next to Salt Lake City.
Creating Elias's first out of Europe colony.
And the birthplace of Native America's power in North America.
The figures cited to the US Administration were afterall false, but only for a time, since the quarter million native tribe members would quickly be enhanced with the production and arrival of newly summoned Native Riflemen, and other forces generated by the outpost and structures to come.
All the while the native american tribes themselve could once more settle down in their new home content with their daily lives, meanwhile Koda would as Grand Chief, modernize certain locations, like Denver, Salt Lake, and other Pioneer towns to become veritable edens, quickly drowning out the white settlers with Native arrivals, opening arable lands for industrial farming.
If America tried to do anything now, they would need to watch their backs as a non-agression treaty was in place with the new America.