When a Native American prayer camp sprang up in the shadow of the Fort Snelling immigration court this winter, Dakota leaders were among its loudest critics. Galled by what they saw as an inappropriate occupation of a sacred site, tribes issued a flurry of letters demanding the camp’s closure.

The incident exposed intense differences of opinion about the right way to behave at Coldwater Spring, an understated blufftop prairie also called Mni Owe Sni.

Now, the site is at the center of another debate over its proper usage, one that could have serious consequences for a beloved 6-acre ramble of woods and beaches managed by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board: the Minnehaha Dog Park.

Over the past year, the Park Board has had a series of private discussions with its Native American advisors about closing the dog park over concerns that the land it now occupies is part of the Mni Owe Sni sacred site — and that it contains the remains of Dakota people.