I rere te putanga tuatahi o Tū Tangata ki te ao i te marama o Ākuhata/Hepetema 1981. He maha ōna kaiwhakaputa kōtui, arā, nā te Tari Māori, te Kaunihera Māori, me te Rōpū Wāhine Māori Toko i Te Ora i kawe, ā, i puta mai i te haumitanga o ētahi taitara e rua o mua atu, Te Kaea me te moheni a Kaunihera, arā, Te Māori.

The first issue of Tū Tangata was published in August/September 1981. It was a joint publication by the Department of Māori Affairs, the New Zealand Māori Council and the Māori Women’s Welfare League and was formed from the merging of two earlier titles, the Department’s Te Kaea and the Council’s Te Māori.