Indigenous Unruly Bodies: Managed Alcohol Programs, Cultural Adaptation, Care, and Control

Abstract

Background In settler-colonial contexts such as Canada, Indigenous Peoples have long been subject to spatial and social control, from confinement on reserves to overrepresentation in carceral and institutional systems. Today, while over 60% of Indigenous Peoples live in urban areas, they continue to face disproportionate levels of homelessness and alcohol-related harms. Managed Alcohol Programs (MAPs)—which provide housing and controlled doses of alcohol—respond to these intersecting challenges. Although initially designed for non-Indigenous populations, MAPs are increasingly accessed by Indigenous users and, in some cases, run by Indigenous-led organizations. Yet, little is known about how these programs are culturally adapted within urban institutional settings. Objectives This article explores how cultural adaptation is practiced and experienced within Montréal's first Indigenous-led MAP. Building on the concept of unruly bodies , it examines how daily embodied practices become sites where cultural adaptation, care, and control are continuously negotiated. Methods Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork—including participant observation and informal interviews—this study followed a participatory research approach and was guided by Indigenous principles of relationality, reciprocity, flexibility, and respect. Results Cultural adaptation efforts provided meaningful opportunities for connection, safety, and support. At the same time, they generated tensions around alcohol consumption, everyday life, mobility, and health service use. Rather than viewing these practices simply as forms of non-compliance, we interpret them as expressions of unruliness through which residents negotiated how care should be enacted. Conclusion This study contributes to ongoing conversations about culturally adapted harm reduction by showing that cultural adaptation is not achieved exclusively through structural modifications but is continually negotiated through embodied practices. Recognizing unruliness not as a problem but as a relational, embodied process points to the importance of more flexible, community-led models of care.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Contemporary Drug Problems, 2026 · DOI ↗