As a senior in high school, George Longfish faced a dilemma: Which dream should he follow?

• star wrestler on an Iroquois Indian reservation in New York while growing up, he had recently lettered in the sport at his new school in Chicago. Longfish now had a chance to walk-on to the powerhouse Oklahoma State team as a non-scholarship player.

But he also had a burgeoning interest in art, cultivated by a student teacher from the Art Institute of Chicago who introduced Longfish to the abstract style.

Longfish stayed in Chicago.

"There wasn't the idea of going to college in my family," he said. "I didn't feel as though I should push it."

That decision would prove noteworthy for both the genre of Native American art and the discipline of Native American studies.

After several years of working, Longfish did go to college, entering the Art Institute and earning his Master of Fine Arts.

In 1973, he was working at the University of Montana when UC Davis came calling, looking for a professor of Native American studies. He initially was hesitant to take the post.

"I didn't look at Native American studies as a viable position," he said, explaining that he believed the department provided training for lawyers and others who would work with Native Americans. "I was trained as an artist."

But the chance to expand UC Davis' Native American museum, newly named after retiring faculty member Carl Nelson Gorman won him over.

Longfish will retire at the end of next summer having built up the museum as a premier showplace for Native American artists. The modern, yet culturally-inspired work of artists he has hosted - Kay WalkingStick, James Luna and Edgar Heap of Birds and others - often defied what critics have thought of as Native American art.

Longfish has received acclaim for his own abstract painting and sketches, some of which are on display in Shields Library. But his work over the past 30 years has had a different focus. "It wasn't so important that I should be out there getting accolades, but that the group was out there defining what was Native American art," Longfish said.

The Longfishes, who now live in Dixon, will soon be on the move. George said the family plans to relocate to southern Maine where his wife, Margo, has family. The couple has a 9-year-old daughter, Stella Skye, and Longfish has two sons, Austin and Dela, both of whom study animation at San Jose State.

While in Maine Longfish plans to paint and prep for his first show in years, a 2004 exhibition of 12 Native American artists at the Smith-sonian Institution's New York City museum.

Why are you retiring now?

• think the time I was here was very important. It was one that dealt with the concept of not only going to battle with the university but also the world about whether Native American studies is a viable academic program. Thirty years is probably time. This place is pretty well established. It needs to be given to someone to take it to the next step.

What's been the favorite part of your job?

The gallery was an important component. I had total control. Two years ago when I finally sat back and looked at it, I said, 'I've done a fantastic job.'

What's been the worst part?

(When the gallery lost its director a couple of years ago) I had to step back into the position. I enjoy it, but it's cut into my creative time.

Where is your favorite place on campus?

Dixon. No, I really don't have one. I find myself more and more wanting to be off campus. One area where I do like to spend time with my family is Putah Creek near the Equestrian Center.

What's the biggest change on campus you've seen in your 30 years?

(Earlier) it was realizing the concept of affirmative action, which helped many students to achieve their educational goals and have a better life. The biggest change now that no one is talking about are the ethnicities on campus, especially Asians. That's important with the demographics in California.

What artists do you most admire?

In my early years at the Art Institute I liked (painter and sculptor) Barnett Newman and (painter and sketcher) Arshile Gorky. Gorky was Armenian. He tried to emulate Americans, but it wasn't until he went back to his cultural information that he took off. I always found that an incentive.

Do you still follow wrestling?

My sons both wrestled at Davis High. Dela placed third in the county. Austin placed fifth two years later. I read books, and I usedto drive the kids to the matches.

After 30 years, what would people still be surprised to know about you?

I've done a lot of work in the sense of spiritual healing and the ability to see clairvoyantly. I've worked with a group called the Berkeley Psychic Institute. I finished a transmedium program three years ago.

When I started my spiritual training, I was going through a rough time in my life. I actually believed that I was going crazy. After I started my training, I made the many connections to my culture. There were things that I accepted that I knew that were a part of my culture such as spirit, reincarnation and past lives. Many times both my training and culture have crossed over each other and vice versa.