Eskimo–Aleut languages
However, by the time that Alaska joined the union in 1959, the number dwindled to only 20 spoken within the boundaries of the state. These can be divided into four separate families; the Eskimo–Aleut languages, Athabaskan, Haida, and Tsimshian. They all share similar characteristics, but have distinctive processes. Through the years after the colonization by the Russians, the importance of native languages subsided until the age of reformation occurred.