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Shushan, Gregory. "The Sun told me I would be restored to life": Native American Near-Death Experiences. Journal of Near-Death Studies, 34(3), Spring 2016, pp. 134-135. Case: Don Talayesva
Journal of Near-Death Studies Vol. 34(3) pp. 134-135, 2016
1907
2016
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M
Don Talayesva, a 17-year-old Hopi youth, was near death from pneumonia in a U.S. government boarding school hospital in 1907. A Guardian Spirit visited him and told him he would travel to the House of the Dead to learn that life is important. The wind carried his spirit to a mountain, then through a dimly lit tunnel to his own village where only his recently deceased grandmother could see him. He met a spirit god directing good people over the smooth highway and bad people over the rough road. Following the smooth road, he rose to a mesa top where flowers bloomed and birds sang despite it being midwinter. Black and white striped clowns told him to hurry back to his body, but he proceeded to ancient cliff dwellings where he was criticized for not believing in the land of the dead. To learn a lesson on life, he chose between red and white pots of suds for washing - choosing white ensured his return to his body. He witnessed murderers being pushed into a fire pit by their victims before becoming beetles. As Maasaw (Skeleton Man) chased him with a club, he jumped off a cliff and landed on a clown who instructed him to return quickly to his body before burial. Hospital staff had prepared his body for burial when he returned. His Guardian Spirit told him he would become an important man in ceremonies. Chief Tewaquaptewa confirmed his death journey was true, matching what old people saw when visiting the House of the Dead. This NDE led directly to Talayesva's spiritual renewal, rejecting 10 years of Christianization and embracing Hopi traditions.
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Hospital
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Suggestive Evidence
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Near death from pneumonia in government hospital, body prepared for burial
Specific cultural details about House of Dead verified by Chief Tewaquaptewa
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Body prepared for burial
7/24/2025
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