There is nothing stopping them from moving off the reserves.
You would think so, wouldn't you? Why do so many of them kill themselves?
I would also imagine, (and I want to make it plain here, that, as an immigrant I know little about the plight of Canada's natives, and am just saying what occurs to me) that they are terrified of doing that. There are some, that I know personally, who live off reserve and do well, but there are a lot more who seem to do do poorly.
The picture I get is of young natives, with IThings and internet things and all kinds of social media things telling them what a big world it is out there, and they wake up every day in some craphole with prospects of ever seeing it all = zero. Pass the glue.
I think that saying there is nothing stopping them from moving off the reserves is akin to saying about drug addicts, there is nothing stopping them from giving up the habit. I just don't think it's as easy as it sounds.
I do not subscribe to the idea that they are different, or special, except as cybercoma says, legally speaking. I don't think that helps the individuals.