its reference to Indian bands, elections of chiefs and councils, and band by-law powers, is not the source of Aboriginal self-government. Despite the presumption in the legislation that nothing can happen on Indian lands without federal approval or compliance with the Act, the Act does not state that tribal authority pre-existing its passage is abolished. In fact, the Act seems to state very clearly that only when the minister declares that certain provisions apply to a First Nation does there occur a necessary interference with Aboriginal self-determination. The fact that Indian bands have borne the burdens of the legislation over the years, or have tried to work with a federal bureaucracy itself dependent upon the legislation, should not be interpreted as acceptance or acquiescence by Aboriginal people to a derivative form of government dependent upon delegated powers from a federal authority. The assertion of inherent political powers and jurisdiction by First Nations in Canada and more notably in Manitoba in such areas as child welfare, education and social services has resulted in governmental arrangements that increasingly support the perspective that Aboriginal people have a considerable role to play in governing themselves. Aboriginal decisions to operate under the laws of the province, such as in the case of child welfare, and under federal laws, as in the case of the Indian Act , clearly resulted from processes whereby the opportunities to make other, more appropriate, arrangements were denied to them, and should not be misinterpreted as a willingness by Aboriginal people