The Big Buck is awarded each Spring at the end of the program season (i.e. "the hunting season") to the Tribe that has earned the honor of "Tribe of the Year" by demonstrating the best participation in the Poenix Nation Guides program over the course of that season (August through June).  Tribes earn points toward the award throughout the hunting season by attending nation campouts and other events, recruiting new members, and adding new Haylushka braves to their ranks.  These points are weighted so that the size of the tribe is not a factor in determining which tribe can win.

The Great Grizzly is awarded, at the end of each one of the three campouts, to the Tribe whose boys best recite the program Rituals (i.e. each of the Aims, Slogan, and Pledge), as a group, from memory and in unison, during the Saturday evening  Aims Walk on the way to the campout Council Fire Ceremony.