By Tricia Thomas

At sunrise, Halalt elder Joe Norris leads a traditional Coast Salish ceremony in which young boys are transformed into men.

During the ritual, youth are led to a pond. They enter the water carrying a large rock and walk across the pool holding the rock underwater. When they emerge, they have left their childhood behind. Joe Norris shared the significance of the tradition.

“The pond represents the coming-of-age that we witness when the individual’s voice changes and he becomes a man.

Crossing the pond with a rock underwater, he leaves the little boy behind. “He becomes strong as a rock, lets the issues he dealt with as a boy go. Tomorrow he starts behaving differently. His whole life changes and he starts his life as a man.”