Being a Hollywood created iconic figural representation of a historical period does not make one an expert or authority figure in said historical period. It makes one an actor.

Elliott is a decent enough actor an I like lot of his movies. That said, he's also a homophobic and misogynistic, deeply conservative man. So of course a film like this one is going to rattle his cage. He is what he is.

He's also a snob about the Western myth. He's not the only one. I read some blistering critique once about a movie Mads Mikkelson did that was a western. It got all up in this guy's crawl because of Mads being a Dane. How dare he think he could be a cowboy?? It was so stupid because the real west was full of immigrants, women making their way independently, black freedmen and women, and Indigenous persons either trying to stay free or adopting into white culture as best they could, or just trying to survive it.

This was a brilliantly written essay John. Enjoyed it thoroughly.