Letter From thenHeartlandnby Jane GreernWe’re Not as Dumbnas They ThinknIt’s gone just about too far this time.nIn the past year, North and SouthnDakota were included in a group ofnstates described as “America’s Outback”nby Newsweek. As if that weren’tnbad enough, both states were also leftnout of a Rand McNally photographicnatlas. (The editors smiled urbanely,none imagines, and claimed the discrepancynwas “inadvertent,” but we of thenOutback, the Buffalo Commons,nAmerica’s waste-disposal lot, know better,nfrom long experience.)nWe lived through the ignominy.nSons and daughters of pioneers, we’rensurvivors. We hitched up old Bossy tonthe plow and went about our daily livesnas if nothing had hurt.nBut now: the R.J. Reynolds TobacconCompany has announced that it’sncoming out with a cigarette called, ofnall things, “Dakota,” meant to appealnto young, poorly educated, lowermiddle-classnwomen all across thencountry. Kind of makes you want tonmove here, doesn’t it?nLet us not forget that RJR has hadnto snuff one new product already thisnyear: “Uptown,” a cigarette targetingnblack Americans. Well, that particularngroup of Americans happens to form anlarge minority that gets listened tonwhen it complains. Complain it did,nand rightfully so, claiming that thenmarketing gimmick was not only patronizingnbut deadly: young black mennare among the heaviest smokers in thencountry. Two weeks after the newsnabout “Uptown” hit the media, thenoutcry from black America was so loudnthat plans to introduce the cigarettenwent up in smoke.nBut Dakotans — North and Southn— are a much smaller, more manipulablenminority with much less clout.nWe’re resigned to being ignored, andnused to taking a lot of ribbing, evenn46/CHRONICLESnCORRESPONDENCEnfrom our neighboring states (several ofnwhom have very little reason to feelnsuperior), and not complaining muchnat all. “Dakota” cigarettes, though,nmay just do the trick.nThe RJR marketing plan, madenpublic by the Washington Post, offersnthis alluring profile of the average “Dakota”nsmoker: a woman with only anhigh school education, holding a “job”nbut not working at a “career.” Herninterests? “Partying with friends, dancing,ngoing to clubs and bars, cruising,nwatching television, and shopping atnthe mail.” Her live entertainment ofnchoice? “Drag races, motocross,nmotorcycle races, hot rod shows, cyclenshows, tractor pulls, monster trucks,nwrestling, and tough-man competitions.”nHer favorite television show isnRoseanne. The “Dakota” womannwants to get married, but until shenwalks down the aisle she will spend hernfree time “with her boyfriend, doingnwhatever he’s doing.”n”How dumb do they think we are?”nasked Kathleen Wiebers, executive directornof the South Dakota Lung Association.nSouth Dakota has the fifthlowestnsmoking rate in the nation, atn21.1 percent of the adult population.nNorth Dakota is right in there, too;nfewer than one-fourth of all NorthnDakotans smoke.n”Our women are more intelligentnthan that. I don’t know where they getnthe idea that because we’re out here