Collective thinking is the focus of this wave of feminism. It fights for collective rights and stands in contrast to western feminism, which focuses on the individual and exclusion. The concept of indigenous feminisms is rooted in the ideas of indigenous peoples which traditionally focus on collective identities that look to build a common project. However, indigenous feminism recognizes that these identities must be transformed, given that some are sexist and exclude women.
In contrast to hegemonic feminism, indigenous feminism does not distance itself from the social movement since indigenous communities have historically functioned—and continue to do so—as collectives where the common well-being comes first.
Their priorities include achieving the collective right to land and to natural resources, the right to not suffer violence in their territories and bodies, and on political participation from the community and upwards. This corresponds to the body-land-territory assertion. The intergenerational approach is also important in their fight.
This wave also places significant importance on indigenous identities that have been crushed—and almost eliminated—after centuries of colonization in the American continent. Indigenous feminists fight to give a voice to their specific problems and their own cosmovisions, which have been silenced for so long. Indigenous feminism also urges hegemonic feminism to embrace an intersectional approach that recognizes the diversity of women’s experiences to truly eliminate the sources of exclusion that they face.