This paper is devoted to the study of the interactions between Québec law and Innu law with respect to “adoption” (ne kupaniem), before the coming into force of recent amendments to the Civil Code of Québec in this regard. The official discourse, which denies any interaction between the two legal orders, is contrasted to the practices of the front-line players, who establish, without always acknowledging it explicitly, points of contact between the two legal orders. The analysis of life stories of persons involved in those practices and that of court decisions shows that the Youth Protection Act, statutory adoption, tutorship and family law rules may be used to superimpose a relationship under Québec law to an already existing relationship under Innu law.