I once built a Fallout universe of New Mexico before Caesar's Legion. It was cool, I had a bunch of tribes (both old and new), and a bunch of non-tribal cities. My map even stretched into Arizona a little bit.
I renamed the Navajo Reservation "The Res" because lots of Navajos call it the Res here, and it sort of goes hand in hand with Fallout lore regarding "The Res". Although I made it to where, the Navajo had split up into many different tribal groups after the war who all warred with eachother for complete control over the Res and it's resources/hunting grounds. Sixty-four years after the war (which is when it was set), there were only five major tribes left on the "Res", some were still fighting eachother, other's had alliances. You could pick which one you wanted to help. These were the tribes:
• The Whiteskulls: This is the most "primitive" tribe on the Res. They almost never use fire arms, but over the years their martial prowess had perfected to the point that they would rather use spears or war clubs (made from a steel pipe and several long, thick nails beat into the pipe). They are very war-like, and were responsible for wiping out four other smaller tribes before present day. If they aren't raiding for what they have, they are scavenging. Only very occasionally will they attempt to hunt animals for their food, but only because they simply don't have the knowledge/skill to hunt, especially without firearms. They get their name "Whiteskulls" from their tribal rites. For a child to become a man, he must accompany a raiding party and, successfully get his own kill. He must then cut the skull out of their head, which will then be put on his tribal gear as a trophy. The Whiteskulls are also cannibals.
• The Red Suns: This tribe was more into tribal rites and tribal religion more than anything else. They are probably the closest thing to the Pre-War Navajos, as they retained almost all of the original language (most of them don't even speak English, only Navajo) and all of the original tribal rites, stories, and religion. In the first years after the war, they scavenged and raided to survive; however as time passed and the land became livable again, they turned to hunting and foraging for survival, with the occasional scavenge hunt for old-world tech. They use a mixture of old hunting rifles and melee weapons. They no longer raid anymore, however they are at war with two of the other tribes on the Res; the Whiteskulls and the Aztecs. Many of the smaller tribes willfully assimilated into the Red Suns for protection, eventually giving them the strength through numbers that allowed them to survive what was known to the tribes of the Res as the "War of the Great Flame", which was when all the smaller tribal bands warred with eachother immediately after the Great War.
• The Aztecs
The Aztecs are very war-like, and also very religious. Imagine Caesar's Legion, but instead of Romans, Aztecs. The Aztecs were not originally from the Res. No one except their most eldest is completely sure where their from, though popular rumor indicates that they are from the New Mexico-Mexico border area. The Aztecs arrived on "The Res" some twenty-five years after the Great War, already with hardened soldiers and firearms in relatively good condition. The Aztecs own the largest part of the Res, which is all of the southern part. They are ruled by a "Tlatoni", also known as a "Speaker". While they are very war-like, they are also considered to be the most civilized of all the tribes. They live in the old houses and trailers of South Res, have large crop fields, priests which have a decent amount of knowledge in medicine, and an elaborate society. The Aztecs also worship the old Aztec gods/religion from long before the War. Just like Caesar saw a roman-type society as best fit for a post-nuclear wasteland, a man and his group of survivors who had taken shelter in a library long ago (and took many books with him, which explains why his people know how to tend crops and use pre-war medical techniques better than even some non-tribals), aspired to create a Aztec-like society which thrived on war and trade. A lot of non-tribals trade peacefully with the Aztecs, and a lot of smaller tribes both within and outside of the Res offer a monthly tribute. The Aztecs want to unite all the tribes of the Res, and then in turn use that strength to unite all of New Mexico, and so on and so forth under their neo-Aztecan society.
• The Storm Callers
The Earth Callers are a peaceful, shamanistic society. They believe strongly in ancestor worship mixed with worship of nature and the elements (not 100% a traditional Navajo religion, but very Shamanistic. Best way I can explain it; think WarCraft Orcs before their corruption. The Earth Callers are peaceful, possibly the most peaceful of all the major Res tribes, but they are not exactly pacifists. They are skilled fighters who have what is probably the most advanced warfare tech out of all the tribes (they live out of an old military complex that was within the Res before the war - and are the descendants of the old Navajos in the US Marine Corp who were stationed on that base), in which they have been known to wield Flamers, Missile Launchers, Sniper Rifles, Assault Rifles, etc. etc. with utmost precision and skill. Think Boomers - but without Howitzers, without a bloodlust, and a much more tribal-like society. They are peaceful however, in the fact that while they will defend their own lands and hunting grounds, they have never been known to send war parties against another tribe, and have always freely traded with (and at times, even helped) outsiders and other tribes that were peaceful towards them. They are at war with the Aztecs, who is the only other tribe that has the military strength to directly oppose them. As I said before, they are also very, very shamanistic. Their shamistic beliefs combined with their firepower is where they get their tribal name - "The Storm Callers".
• The Red Skins - (ironically, they got their name from the football team ((which for the purpose of this story, exists in the Fallout world)), their warriors and hunters wear their football gear. I don't have much information on them since I didn't put much thought into them, besides the fact that they survive of scavenging and hunting, and are at war with the Aztecs, Whiteskulls, and Red Suns. They
There are also two other major tribes outside the Res area, one of which lives in NM's White Sands, and another which lives off an old pueblo and runs an old Indian Gaming casino. You can do quests for both. For the latter, the faction is split into two groups: one who believe that the gambling operation being run, while it makes their people wealthy, is highly immoral and they should return to the old ways of their ancestors, and the second who think that running the casino is the best thing that has happened to their people since the war; and the dissenters want to ruin it which they believe would spell doom for their people.
Non-tribal towns include (these are not their names, I'm just giving names of the pre-war towns their based out of: West Albuquerque, South Santa Fe, Red River (who is having trouble with raids from a nearby Raider Gang - the Skulls), Roswell (thought this would be fun), Los Lunas (this includes their infamous military base), Espanola which has, just like in it's Pre-War days, collapsed to become a Den infested with raider gangs (most who are descendants from Pre-War street gangs) who all sell drugs, and finally the small town of Fort Sumner.
EDIT: Damn, I didn't realize how much I wrote there.
