Report of the Working Group on Customary Adoption in Aboriginal Communities : Customary adoption

Few Quebecers have ever heard of Aboriginal customary adoption. It is a topic that receives little media attention, despite its existence in fact and in Aboriginal customary law and that it is practised among Aboriginal families. That said, its occurrence ranges from sporadic in some Nations and communities to frequent in others. Its scope is not limited to Québec insofar as a customary adoption by an Aboriginal community or Nation sometimes extends across borders. Although the approaches, conditions and effects of customary adoption vary from one Nation to the next, certain fundamental elements remain the same. Moreover, this practice of customary adoption among Aboriginal communities distinguishes them from the rest of Québec society and its presence within these Nations is in keeping with their distinctive forms of family and social organization.