Just to make sure there is no misunderstanding: anyone is free to leave their reservation/reserve and to move anywhere they want within our respective countries. After that, it gets very complicated. In Canada, if there were any collective expression of will on the part of Aboriginal people for an end to the reserve system, that would undoubtedly occur. But: in the 1970s, Prime Minister Trudeau presented what was called The White Paper, which was a proposal to do away the Indian Act (the legislation outlining the relationship between government and 'Treaty Indians'), and to establish all the rights and responsibilities of 'ordinary' citizenship on Treaty Indians - this was angrily rejected by Treaty Indians (their represenataive, anyway), and is still a sore point with them (with the politically aware, that is) ...can

The reservations/reserves were established in most cases by treaty. A treaty is a legal contract, and it outlines the terms of a 'sale', promising certain things to the 'seller' (treaty-signing Indians) and buyer (government). Treaty Indians as a group are, understandably, reluctant to give up the benefits guaranteed in the various treaties, even if there are other aspects of the treaties they are unhappy with.

It can get very messy when you come back a hundred or more years later and try to re-write a contract, however unsatisfactory that contract may be.