Lower On The Totem Pole

The colloquial phrase low man on the totem (pole) denotes the person with the to the lowest degree amount of experience, potency and/or influence in a group or organisation.

The noun totem pole denotes a wooden post carved and painted with totem figures, erected past some Native-American peoples. Totem poles have a diverseness of functions, including as records of family or association histories, structural supports for houses, and memorials.

Incidentally, the phrase low man on the totem (pole) does non utilize to actual totem-pole carvings, which are ofttimes not arranged in a hierarchical order, and may show important figures almost the bottom.

It was apparently the U.S. comedian Fred Allen (John Florence Sullivan – 1894-1956) who coined this phrase in a portrait of his friend, the U.S. journalist, humorist and author Harry Allen Wolfgang Smith (1907-1976). This portrait appeared in the Introduction to Depression Human on a Totem Pole (Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., 1941), by H. Allen Smith—every bit mentioned by Jack Broudy in the review of Depression Human on a Totem Pole, published in The Boston Herald (Boston, Massachusetts) of Wednesday 14^th May 1941:

To such famous mysteries every bit the example of the Mary Celeste and the identity of the low person who put the overalls in Mrs. Murphy's chowder, must now be added the championship of H. Allen Smith's racy, risable [sic] and often rowdy book.
The tag, "Low homo on a Totem Pole," may sound every bit incomprehensible as a gum chewer on the telephone until y'all learn that it was taken from a phrase in the riotous introduction contributed by Fred (Persimmon Puss) Allen. That explains everything except, of course, the championship.

The actual phrase used by Fred Allen in the Introduction to Depression Man on a Totem Pole is low man on whatsoever totem pole —this is an excerpt from this introduction:

He [= H. Allen Smith] is a little human being. He might be a midget who forgot himself and overgrew a few inches. Physically, Smith is a waste of peel. He weighs most 1 hundred and ten pounds with his bridgework in and the complete works of Dale Carnegie under each arm. At that place isn't enough meat on him to overabundance a baby buzzard. At a cannibals' buffet Smith would be the hors d'oeuvre. […]
[…]
If Smith were an Indian he would exist low homo on any totem pole. His epidermis boasts no incision, birthmark, wart or tattoo display. As a landscape Smith would be pretty irksome. His complexion is a sort of sloppy pastel. When he flushes he turns the color of a meerschaum pipe that has been smoked twice. If Smith passed you in a Turkish bath (which is improbable) yous wouldn't turn around. You would simply look at him and shrug your sheet.

In the above-quoted review, Jack Broudy wrote that the phrase sounded incomprehensible. It soon caught on, however, and the earliest occurrence of low man on the totem (pole) that I have found is from the explanation to the post-obit cartoon, published in the Milwaukee Sentinel (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) of Tuesday 2^nd September 1941—titled Depression Human being!, this cartoon depicts the Taxpayer as a figure carved at the bottom of the Tote 'em Pole, carrying the burdens of War and Taxes:

The Taxpayer is low man on the totem pole of War and Taxes; no matter how heavy their burdens he has to TOTE 'EM!

The 2d-earliest occurrence of low human being on the totem (pole) that I take constitute is from the account by Virginia Boren of a lecture given by the U.S. philanthropist, educator and journalist Robert Carleton Smith (1908-1984)—business relationship published in The Seattle Daily Times (Seattle, Washington) of Th 23^rd October 1941:

Hearing a Lecturer Extraordinary—Extraordinarily Different

Looking like a character out of a Noel Coward cartoon-room drama, wearing a tie that globe famous symphony usher Arturo Toscanini gave to him, figuratively patting three college degrees in his belong pocket (he's an economics professor by preparation) and shoving several nice fat lecture contracts into some other pocket, Mr. Carleton Smith came to the Washington Athletic Club yesterday to charm the women and amuse the men!
Now Carleton Smith could exist the low man on the totem pole. He could be the finish minstrel. He could aptly, albeit neatly, introduce Einstein to an audience. He could deport for Toscanini, and he no doubt could get Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, to requite him an interview on women's hats. He certainly could get broad ribbons in the diplomatic service!