Renae Al-Fdeilat
TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Penobscot Indian Nation
MEDIUM: Beadwork
ARTIST STATEMENT
Renae Al-Fdeilat is a Penobscot beadwork artist from Maine. She is the owner of Penawapskewi Designs, where she creates traditional and contemporary beadwork inspired by her Penobscot heritage. Her work explores themes of identity, culture, family, and Indigenous resilience, with a particular interest in the ways communities preserve and pass on knowledge through beadwork.
As a Native woman and the wife of a Palestinian, Renae brings a unique perspective to conversations about Indigenous identity, displacement, and cultural survival. She is an advocate for both Native and Palestinian communities, drawing connections between histories of land loss, genocide, resilience, and the ongoing importance of maintaining culture, community, and belonging. Her work is grounded in creating pieces that allow people to express their identities, tell their stories, and visibly carry the causes they care about, including Indigenous sovereignty, Land Back, and a Free Palestine.
