high on the totem pole vs significant

high on the totem pole

adj
  • Accorded relatively high importance. 

significant

adj
  • Having a noticeable or major effect. 

  • Reasonably large in number or amount. 

  • Having a low probability of occurring by chance (for example, having high correlation and thus likely to be related). 

  • Having a covert or hidden meaning. 

  • Signifying something; carrying meaning. 

noun
  • That which has significance; a sign; a token; a symbol. 

How often have the words high on the totem pole and significant occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )