The Last Ones to Land on Planet Earth

I have started reading Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer. It has been chosen for a book study for the Sisters of Notre Dame and their associates. Its genre eludes me. Are its chapters stories or essays? Is it a book of poetry, the typeset only looking like prose? Though I am only on page 33, I have found nuggets of wisdom, delightful metaphors, embarrassing historical events, knowledge of botany, and appreciation for Native Americans. Today I considered the fact that people are “the younger brothers of creation.” How true! The last creatures to appear were humans. We are the baby brothers and sisters of moon, stars, mountains, oceans, birds, fish, insects, and all other living and non-living creatures. We generally think we’re at the top, most important, most conscious, the ones in charge. How much better our planet would be if we remembered we’re the latecomers, the youngest siblings.