Were there many anti-western novels or movies prior to Blood Meridian?
As a kid my introduction to westerns was John Wayne movies and Louis L'amour books. Which are quite tame in comparison to McCarthy's works
As an adult who has a history degree and personal interest in Plains history specifically since I grew up in an area whose often overlooked history is rife with violence from all sorts perpetrators (Native v Native, army v Native, cattlemen v farmers etc) . I know that the plains and western expansion were bloody and violent affairs. And I welcome the more gritty depictions we've seen in movies such as hostiles and American Primeval since even if they are works of historical fiction, they paint a more accurate picture of the era.
However, these didn't seem to be too popular in the 20th century. The main example I can think of is dances with wolves, but even that was tame compared to reality. But I think it at least tried.
So I guess that was a lot of words to ask, are there other 20th century works outside of McCarthy that are willing to go against the mainstream 20th century depictions of western expansion?