The Tenarans were a species of Humans that had been moved to Tenara by the Preservers and appeared to be from Asia. They were governed by the Great Saavta.
By 2364, the Tenarans were still leading a relatively rural, peaceful, and communal lifestyle, but had joined the United Federation of Planets. During that year, the Tenarans came under attack by the M'dok and were forced to request Starfleet assistance. The USS Centurion and USS Enterprise-D were both dispatched to deal with the situation.
Unfortunately, the Magna Roman crew of the Centurion were intent upon turning the Tenarans into a warrior race, similar to Magna Romans. These efforts were eventually stopped by the Enterprise's crew and the M'dok were also stopped through the efforts of Federation diplomats. (TNG novel: The Captains' Honor)