Actually, there's a misapprehension here. You *can* have a starting
character as a shaman. The Secret is awakening someone's fetch so
that they become a shaman, it is not the only way you awaken your
own fetch. So, your shaman starting character will have had his or
her fetch awoken by one of these specialists (most traditions only
have one or two fetch-awakening practices).
All the best
Mark