I don’t think I fully understand either. You are reading the observations and interpretations of someone who did not grow up with these kinds of practices but who has had some experience with them.
From what I have observed there are probably lots of reasons to adopt someone or to be adopted. Sometimes a persons family may be lacking in certain areas and so a person who can fill that place in might be adopted. For instance if a family is lacking capable contributing men, they might adopt a brother or son or two.
A grandma who is raising her grandchildren may be concened that she will not live long enough to see them able to take care of themselves so she might adopt a daughter or son who will take over when grandma passes on.
Another example might be if a person has something they need or wish to pass on but there are prohibitions about passing it on to an outsider. They may adopt someone in order to bring that person in and get around their outsider status.
What I see sometimes is that when a non Native person gets adopted by a Native family or person, they may feel honored and thrilled and jump right in but they may not fully understand the responsibilty part of it. Then because of their mainstream mindset they may go to all kinds of wierd places with it, feeling used and taken for a ride and all that. When all along this may have been obvious to someone from that culture. “Well why did you think we adopted you dude?”
Sometimes there may be a public ceremony so the new family member can be introduced to the community and their new status acknowleged. Sometimes it’s fairly small with just those involved there. But commitments are made.
The woman I mentioned in my earlier post has three adopted brothers that I know and an adopted son and an adopted daughter. All of whom were adopted by her as adults. They were all adopted for reasons and they all contribute to supporting her and her family in what they do. At the time most of the men were adopted there were no healthy adult male members of her family that could do some of the work that was required for the services that she provides to her community.
The “sister” I referred to in my earlier post is not my blood sister but she has been like a sister to me. My wife and I were asked to be Godparents to her children and we said we would in a ceremony. In the ceremony we commited ourselves to supporting her in her mothering in whatever way we could and to providing for a spiritual upbringing for her children. To a lot of folks nowadays that is a token gesture that is hardly taken seriously. To us, we made a commitment and now the time has come to fulfill it.
Making these commitments with sincerity and being willing to put it on the line when called upon makes us all richer.