[Idiom] lower on the totem pole

[English70]

Hi,
I need to know the meaning or a way to rewrite that sentence so i can better understand it.

" Dont get me wrong-it isn't that my parents dont care about Jesse or
whatever trouble he's gotten himself mixed up in. It's just that they dont
really have time to care about it, because it's a problem somewhere lower
on the totem pole."

thanks

 

[billmcd]

Hi,
I need to know the meaning or a way to rewrite that sentence so i can better understand it.

" Dont get me wrong-it isn't that my parents dont care about Jesse or
whatever trouble he's gotten himself mixed up in. It's just that they dont
really have time to care about it, because it's a problem somewhere lower
on the totem pole."

thanks

In this example it means that the parents have more important problems to deal with. You could say that it is a problem of lesser importance.