The Lower Sioux Indian Community says the federal government should return the Coldwater Spring in Minnesota to the Dakota people.

The sacred spring lies within a 29-acre site that's managed by the National Park Service. Tribes requested a co-management role but that was rejected as the agency undertook a $2.2 million renovation.

"They played us along," Sheldon Wolfchild, a Lower Sioux member, told The Minneapolis Star Tribune. "We let them take the buildings out, and the next thing we know all the trees are gone and it's all barren. It's devastating."

The NPS removed 12 buildings that were falling into disrepair and removed thousands of trees, replacing them with native grasses and flowers. The makeover has gotten mixed reviews.

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Coldwater Spring debuts with a new look (The Minneapolis Star Tribune 9/4)