[1] A young Lakota boy named Adam (Michael Spears) is adopted by 26 year old David Norwell.
Jimmy Smits was asked to portray Dorris, with the character name of David Norwell, in 1989 which was shortly after the book was released.
Reynold Abel, on whom the character Adam was based, was struck and killed by a car at age 23 before the film's release in September 1991.
And I'm very proud of it.John J. O'Connor, writing for The New York Times, said, "Going against the television-movie grain, The Broken Cord provides no comforting payoff.
"[3] Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "Adam (Reynold Abel in real life) died last year, only 23 years old, hit by a car; flawed as it is, TV’s The Broken Cord is a heartfelt testament to his life.