The canoe's captain and maker, Antonio Moreno, told KCBS Radio the craft, which is composed entirely of local reeds, offers a different sort of ride than other canoes.
"The waves kind of go into the canoe, and kind of get softened, so there's not much thrashing around," he said.
Moreno said building the canoe gave him and others a chance to relive the traditions of their elders, and to see how that knowledge can currently play an important role in their own lives.
"We're realizing that the knowledge that our elders had, their traditional ecological knowledge is very valuable to today's survival," he said.
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Ruth Orta of Newark, an 85-year-old member of the Ohlone tribe, described Monday's event as a reminder to everyone that indigenous peoples are still here, despite centuries of colonial genocide and oppression.
"When they conquered, they took our land away. People that were here from the beginning of time. That's my ancestors," she said. "We are still here."