Ralphie's accusations about Iron Eyes Cody are true. Cody was actually a man of Sicilian descent named Espera DeCorti.
In this episode, Silvio Dante (played by Steven Van Zandt ) tries to stop a protest by Native Americans. In reality, Van Zandt has won several awards for his human rights activism, particularly by championing sovereignty rights of indigenous people.
The lowest rated episode of the entire 6 seasons.
This episode's title, "Christopher," refers to famed explorer Christopher Columbus. The episode was written by Michael Imperioli, who plays the character also named Christopher. Ironically, his character is hardly featured in this episode.
Tony's reference to Gary Cooper as "the strong silent type" is the second time in the series the protagonist refers to the legendary actor as a prime male role model. The first time was in the pilot show. And repeated references re-occur later in this same Season 4 in the appropriately named episode "The Strong Silent Type."