Coquille

Coquille is a name with several references in geography, indigenous history, and cuisine. In French, coquille means shell, and the word appears in place names and culinary terms in English-speaking contexts as well.

Coquille, Oregon is a small city in Coos County in southwestern Oregon, United States. It sits along the Coquille River and serves as a regional community within the coastal valley.

The Coquille River is a coastal river in southwestern Oregon that flows through the region and empties into the Pacific Ocean near Bandon. The river and its valley have been central to the area’s settlement and Indigenous history.

The Coquille Indian Tribe is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the Coquille River Valley. Its government and reservation affairs are centered near Coquille, and the tribe operates various enterprises in the region, including facilities in nearby North Bend.

In culinary usage, coquille appears in dishes such as coquilles Saint-Jacques, where scallops are baked in their shells. The term reflects the French origin of the word for shell and is used to describe similarly prepared shell-based presentations.

History and identity: the Coquille people are an Indigenous group historically associated with the southwestern Oregon coast and the Coquille River Valley. Today, their descendants are represented by the Coquille Indian Tribe, which maintains cultural and governmental structures tied to the area.